Flash Fics
by LeaderPinhead
Summary: A compilation of various, short fics featuring various characters, continuities, and genres. Set 9: In which Grimlock watches the stars, Carly's got a bun in the oven, and Ratchet tends to need things.
1. Set 1

**AN: **It's been a while since I've posted anything new here (not accounting the recent short I added to _Rebirth_), so I've decided to start posting some of the things I've been writing on dA. This "story" will be a compilation of short, prompt filled fics that I've been writing weekly for a group over on dA, and they all consist of various characters, continuities, and genre. I'll group them together in sets of three because they're so short, and upload a new set for the next week until I've posted all of the ones I've written up to this date :)

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><p>Brig Time<br>Prompt: Optimism  
>Characters: Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Ironhide<br>Universe: G1  
>Word Count: 346<br>**Summary: **One mech's enthusiasm is another mech's annoyance.

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><p>Sunstreaker glared across the aisle at where his brother sat. Sideswipe grinned back at him as he playfully attempted to swing his legs on the berth he sat on. It would have worked if he legs hadn't been so long, resulting in the heel of his feet to obnoxiously scrap against the floor. The yellow front-liner twitched each time it happened.<p>

_Scree!_

_Scree!_

_SCREE!_

"_Sideswipe_!"

"Yes, my lovable bundle of sunshine?"

Sunstreaker's fingers automatically clenched the edge of the berth he sat on, leaving small indentions behind when he finally relaxed his grip. "Will you stop it?"

"Stop what, sunshine?" _Scree!_

The annoyed mech's fingers went straight back to clenching his berth. "_That_."

_Scree!_ "What? Swinging my legs? But why? I do that when I'm happy."

_Scree!_ "We're in the fraggin' brig until Prime's team gets back from their Energon run. How could you possibly be _happy_ right now?"

_Scree! _"Because I know we'll get out sooner than that."

_Scree! _"How? Unless you suddenly shoot up two feet and begin spouting competent speeches about freedom, I don't see us getting out any sooner."

_Scree!_ "You just wait, Sunny-boy. Just wait."

_Scree!_ "Don't call me that."

_Scree! _"But sunshine-"

"That's it!"

Sideswipe stopped swinging his legs as Ironhide appeared from where he had been sitting near the entrance of the brig. The older red mech glared at the two twins before punching his access code into the control panel beside their cells. Both doors simultaneously popped open. "I can't take it no more! Don't nobody wanna be stuck with you two for brig duty. Now get out before I change my mind."

Sunstreaker unhurriedly stepped out of his open door while Sideswipe all but skipped out. The jaunty twin grinned as they followed the ornery Ironhide out of the brig. "See? What'd I tell you, Sunshine? I knew we'd get out earlier than expected. Must be my dazzling charm that no one can resist."

Sunstreaker grunted and whipped his hand out to punch his brother in the abdomen, making Sideswipe dramatically lurch forward. "Don't call me that."

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><p>Unspoken Code<br>Prompt: Spring  
>Characters: Steeljaw, Blaster, Rewind, Eject, Ramhorn<br>Universe: G1  
>Word Count: 463<br>**Summary: **Cassettes look out for one another.

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><p>A field of multicolored flora swayed in the light breeze that washed over the glistening lake they surrounded. Their alluring scents permeated the immediate area around them, and their dazzling colors attracted a range of pollinators to spread their pollen. As the breeze stilled, a little patch of golden chrysanthemums continued to gently quake, nearly invisible puffs of dust shaking from the blooming buds. Bees angrily buzzed away as they were disturbed from their perches, but the flowers continued to shake as the perpetrator prowled through the clustered mass of yellow flowers and tall grass.<p>

The golden feline rubbed his muzzle against one of the drooping buds, tickling his snout with the small, thin petals, before continuing his slow journey through the undergrowth. He was careful to avoid the invisible lines where the equally golden flowers gave way to the other various shades of vegetation or where the ground dipped into the waters on the other side of the flowers. At any strange sound, he would pause, flexible, metallic ears moving as they searched for the point of origin. When all seemed to be clear, he would continue his stealthy crawl, and his topaz optics watched the stems around him for any intruder.

He suddenly stopped to rub against the chrysanthemums once more, taking in their pungent scent. The clean, woodsy scent of Earth's flora always did well to chase away the other odors that plagued his sensitive olfactory sensors.

"Steeljaw? I know ya like the scene, my cat, but we gotta get back ta the _Ark_ 'fore someone start's noticin' we're gone."

Steeljaw's belly dragged against the ground as he huddled into the leafy bushes of the flowers. Peeking through the waving petals, he could see his Cassette deck walking through another part of the field, optics roving around the area in search for the rogue Cassette. Two smaller mechs hopped through the field beside him, and Steeljaw could only assume that the shaking buds far behind them belonged to the only other four-legged Cassette Blaster housed.

He gave a soundless yawn as a bright blue visor roved over his hiding place, the little red light on the side of his fellow Cassette's head signaling that he was recording. "Hey Blaster! Did you know that the chrysanthemum is one of the most prominent spring flowers in this particular area on Earth? Not only is it used for decoration, but the humans actually use the leafy portion for their food as well such as…"

Steeljaw settled down into the field of flowers as Rewind continued with his usual informational babble while Eject attempted to gaud both Blaster and Ramhorn into a quick game of Europe's version of football. He wasn't too worried about being found just yet—his fellow Cassettes had his back.

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><p>Training<br>Prompt: Anticipation  
>Characters: Bluestreak, Sideswipe, Prowl, Jazz<br>Universe: G1  
>Word Count: 100<br>**Summary:** Breathe, aim, fire.

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><p>Deep inhale.<p>

Steady hand.

Make sure the target was centered between the crosshairs.

Aim…

Now fire!

Bluestreak stood up from his crouch as Sideswipe swung around in surprise, and a hearty laugh from Jazz could be heard through the room. The holograms broadcasted by the training simulator diminished in a burst of color, and Sideswipe flinched at the sight of Prowl straightening from where he had been hidden, right door-wing now splattered with paint.

Bluestreak waited, hands tightly clenched around the handle of his rifle, before a proud smile appeared at the small nod of approval from the older Praxian.


	2. Set 2

**AN:** Thanks for the positive feedback guys! Here's a set that actually became a "trilogy" of sorts. The second and third piggyback on the first, and they're all about the _Prime_ 'Bots and their human charges spending a long day at the beach ;D

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><p>Down Time<br>Prompt: Vacation  
>Characters: Arcee, Jack, Bulkhead, Miko, Bumblebee, Rafael<br>Universe: Prime  
>Word Count: 495<p>

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><p>"Surf's up, dude!"<p>

Arcee sighed right along with her human partner when Miko broke through the Ground Bridge at a dead run with a hefty board held above her head. Bulkhead laughed at the young girl's enthusiasm and only checked the empty, enclosed beach once before following his charge down to the water. Bumblebee beeped in confusion at their surroundings, but Rafael promptly caught his attention, and the duo settled down on the sand not far from the diminishing portal.

The blue scout paid more attention to their surroundings than her other comrades and found it somewhat annoying that they would dismiss that small precaution. Sure she trusted Ratchet to bridge them to a relatively safe location, but a little caution never hurt.

Jack caught the motorcycle's quick survey of the area and chuckled. "Come on, 'Cee. There's no one around for miles."

"It doesn't hurt to check," Arcee insisted. She finished the quick check of the area and focused on Miko and Bulkhead, the former already swimming out towards the gentle waves that flowed towards them while the latter watched. She glanced over and caught Bumblebee raptly listening to Rafael explain the process of "sandcastles." "And what exactly was the point of this?"

"The point?" Jack repeated. Arcee tilted her head when the teenager pulled his shirt off and placed it on the sand beside the shoes he had kicked off. Bumblebee beeped in amazement as the first sandcastle was erected, and Bulkhead was beginning to go full guardian when Miko began to try and stand on top of her surfboard. "It's summer."

"So?"

"_So_? School's finally out, and it's time to relax."

"By getting sand in our joints and rusting at the speed of light?"

Jack sighed at the sight of Arcee's dubious look. "Come on, Arcee. Just…relax a little. We found this place just so you guys could enjoy it with us as _you_."

The teenager calmly went down to the water just as Miko was taking another tumble off her board. The energetic girl burst back out of the water with a call of reassurance to Bulkhead, who was tiptoeing around the very edge of the surf that washed up on shore. The sound of enthusiastic whirrs and laughter signified that Bumblebee and Rafael were enjoying their chosen activity.

Arcee merely sighed and reached up to tap the side of her helm. "Optimus?"

"Yes."

"I'm stuck here, aren't I?"

"It appears that Ratchet may be having difficulty with the Ground Bridge at the moment. Perhaps you should take the time to enjoy a game that Jack called 'volleyball.'"

"And the 'Cons?"

"Are showing little activity at the moment. Enjoy what the humans describe as a 'vacation.'"

Arcee sighed once more as the signal was dropped and stared at her group. Jack caught her gaze and gestured the ball he held at her. The scout sighed once more and reluctantly nodded.

Thus, Arcee learned that volleyball and Cybertronians did not mix well.

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><p>Sand Buddies<br>Prompt: Heat  
>Characters: Rafael, Bumblebee, Miko, Bulkhead, Jack, Arcee<br>Universe: Prime  
>Word Count: 500<p>

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><p>Rafael chuckled when Bumblebee frantically beeped at the volleyball that barely missed their growing sand village. The scout huffed as he watched Miko run after the ball and return to the net that had been set up and beeped a few times towards the two teams that faced off. Rafael simply laughed a little more at the small, chiding speech his companion gave the others. "It's okay, 'Bee. If anything happens, we can just rebuild it."<p>

Bumblebee whirred, and his door-wings fluttered as he scooped up a good amount of wet sand. He flexed his fingers in an attempt to dislodge the clumps of sand that made it between his joints and released a series of beeps that Rafael was prepared to respond to. "Yeah, sorry about that 'Bee. Guess I didn't really think sandcastles through, huh? We could go join the others if you want."

The yellow scout was shaking his head before the human had finished, lower octave whirrs and beeps furthering his lack of want to join the game. Bumblebee's optics quickly cycled through settings to glare at the ball that went bouncing by them again. Rafael laughed at the choice beeps his Autobot friend gave Bulkhead when the former Wrecker sheepishly apologized for how close the ball had come to knocking over the few castles they had erected. "'Bee! It's not that big of a deal. We can make more if anything happens."

Bumblebee seemed to realize how foolish he must have appeared, threatening to pop a silly ball and sticking sand up his Cybertronian companions' tailpipes if harm befell their little creations. Rafael smiled and barely acknowledged the victorious shouts coming from Bulkhead and Miko. "It's fine. I completely understand. When I'm at home and working on a computer program that's taken me hours to set up, I get really angry when I see any of my siblings anywhere _near_ my laptop. You've worked really hard to make these sandcastles."

Door-wings fluttered up in a sign of gratitude for the little human's understanding of his overly protective behavior, and Bumblebee whirred in question of where to erect the next one. However, his whirrs were cut off when a ball plopped right down in the center of their village, spewing sand in all directions. The enclosed beach went deathly silent as both Bumblebee and Rafael stared at the ball.

"Uh…."

The sound had barely left Bulkhead when Bumblebee was ricocheting off the ground, a long, drawn out whine and erratically waving door-wings signaling his anger. He waved his finger around at the stunned group of volleyball players before snatching up the fragile ball they had been playing with and throwing it towards Arcee. The scout huffed as the bulk of his anger seemed to be tamed while the femme struggled to extract the popped remains of the ball from the wing-like kibble on her back.

Rafael gave the still faintly beeping Autobot a calming pat on the leg and began helping him rebuild their crushed sandcastles.

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><p>Surf's Up!<br>Prompt: Summer  
>Characters: Miko, Bulkhead, Rafael, Bumblebee, Jack, Arcee<br>Universe: Prime  
>Word Count: 477<p>

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><p>"Cowabunga!"<p>

Bulkhead tried not to cringe as he watched his human charge dive headlong into the frothy waves of the ocean. He could feel his spark thrum with worry at the sight of Miko paddling further out into the water on her surfboard. Whereas Jack now preferred to lay out in the sun with Arcee, and Rafael was now collecting seashells with Bumblebee for souvenirs, Miko—his daredevil little charge—would rather take her new surfboard and swim as far out as possible to "ride" the waves back to shore.

And that made Bulkhead internally fret.

"Bulkhead!" Miko waved from where she was sitting on her surfboard, gently floating up and down on the smaller waves that flowed beneath her. He gave her a sheepish wave back; like she needed to yell and wave to get his attention. Bulkhead was focused on her like a cybercat with a glitch mouse. She gave him a thumbs up when she spotted a big enough wave to surf. "Watch this!"

Oh, he was watching. And he was _not_ liking the size of that wave coming up behind her. "Miko…"

"This is gonna be wicked!"

Bulkhead watched as Miko concentrated and got into a position to ride the upcoming wave. He didn't care how he may have looked, tiptoeing along the edge of the salty water. Miko was going up on her board, wobbling to and fro before becoming more stable. That certainly didn't last long though.

His spark jumped when the young human went tumbling off the surfboard. Miko had been in the middle of a raging battle with the Decepticons; she had been trapped in a completely different dimension; and been face-to-face with some of the meanest 'Cons out there.

But Bulkhead was feeling more terrified than ever when the wave passed and Miko didn't resurface.

"Miko?" Jack and Arcee had jumped up from their relaxing positions, and Rafael and Bumblebee were staring in his direction, but Bulkhead paid them no attention as he took his first steps into the salty water. "Miko!"

A pink and black blob suddenly popped out of the water, and Miko released a loud whoop as she climbed back up onto her surfboard. "Did you see that? That was _wicked_!"

Bulkhead reached a hand up to calm his jumping spark and waited for the human girl to drift on the waves to be flattened against his feet. He sighed and shook his head when she angled her head to grin up at him. "You finally got over your fear of the water, Bulk?"

The huge, former Wrecker sighed again at the innocent grin beaming up at her. But a small part of him couldn't resist grinning back. "A little."

"Awesome! Here, I'll show you how this all works."

Bulkhead was just happy that Miko had to come back onto the sand to teach him.


	3. Set 3

**AN:** All of these ficlets take place in the IDW comic verse. Other than that, they're not really related to one another (unless you count the fact that I loved writing them because they're sent in the comics :3).

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><p>Perspective<br>Prompt: Explain Something  
>Characters: Arcee, Windblade, Chromia, Nauticas<br>Universe: IDW (vaguely within the "Dark Cybertron" arc)  
>Word Count: 499<br>**Summary: **Arcee takes a moment to contemplate her existence.

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><p>It was not natural.<p>

That had been one of the many turbulent thoughts that had plagued Arcee since being abandoned by Jhiaxus. They were seen as a genderless race, but one source of tampering had completely changed that. Arcee had been the poor victim of circumstances—chosen on a whim, altered for the name of "science," and subsequently left with the single-minded focus of one day finding her revenge for what Jhiaxus had done to her.

Just because he _could_.

His actions deserved her vengeance—her anger. It had left her traumatized, alone, _different_. She had been violated on levels that few other Cybertronians could even imagine, and she was forever seen as different because of the mad genius' tampering. It also left her leaning over the precarious cliff of "sanity."

Arcee's anger for everything that was done to her had ebbed a little after spending those few, wonderful years constantly driving her blade through the mech's chests. It had made her a little more accepting—soothed her to the point where she could function on a less…_psychotic_ level, she supposed.

However, the thoughts had never completely left her. It was not "normal." There was no other "fembot" that she had encountered during her long life on Cybertron. She was the only one, an anomaly created through science to function with the naturally occurring world around her.

She was alone…or so it had seemed

In the wake of the Necrotitan's defeat, Arcee stood staring at a trio of fembots conversing with everyone else. Arcee did not see the same anger or traumatization that had haunted her, making her slightly envious. They were _happy_ with what they were; they did not even seem to question it! They were comfortable in their frames as they went about their business, not even attempting to blend into the mechs around them.

How was that possible? Certainly they had been through what she had.

"Hi!"

Arcee stared at the young fembot that now approached her. The strange paint marking her face stood out against her other dark features, and the smile was something that Arcee did not expect. "I'm Windblade, and you must be Arcee. I was pretty surprised to hear that you were the only fembot around here."

"Surprised?"

"Sure. There's plenty of other fembots back on Caminus. It's weird to see that it's not the same here too. Must get pretty boring with only mechs around. Let me introduce you to Chromia and Nautica."

Arcee refused to take the hand that was offered to her, but she followed Windblade to her other companions. Arcee listened to them in the rare calm anyone had nowadays. They acted no different from the others. None of it was unnatural to them. It was just a simple cultural concept outside of their own that they had accepted; it did not change them from what they were.

This was _normal_ for them.

And that fact opened up a whole new perspective for the lonely fembot to contemplate.

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><p>Don't Like, Don't Read<br>Prompt: Tropes  
>Characters: Ultra Magnus, Rodimus, Drift, Whirl<br>Universe: MTMTE  
>Word Count: 499<br>**Summary:** Sometimes, life on the _Lost Light_ is just one big fanfiction.

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><p>"Rodimus, we have a situation."<p>

Rodimus didn't look up from the trail his laser left in his desk. When Ultra Magnus came to him with a "situation" it often involved some teeny-tiny problem that Rodimus didn't care for. Like some emergency exit wasn't up to standard protocol. Who really cared about that?

"This isn't a situation you can ignore, Rodimus." The captain jumped when a data-pad was slammed onto his desk. Drift, who had been silently standing off to the side, yelped when the laser nearly sliced through one of the finials on his helm. "I will not stand for such…such…defamation!"

"Look, Magnus, just because someone went and added footnotes to the Autobot Code—"

"They what!"

Drift smiled when Ultra Magnus automatically turned to glare at the former Decepticon, but the bigger mech quickly shook his head and pointed at the data-pad. "I'll investigate that next, but I _strongly_ feel that this material should be prohibited on the ship, and the publisher rightfully punished."

Rodimus sighed, and the way his optics flashed indicated his disinterest in the tablet he picked up. Drift sidled around the desk to read over the captain's shoulder and visibly flinched when the flamed mech shouted. "What the heck—who wrote this?"

"Finally! We see optic-to-optic on an issue. I've narrowed down the list—"

"Even if you are bigger, I wouldn't let you top!" Ultra Magnus stared as Drift took the data-pad for Rodimus to point at his second-in-command in a very offended manner. "Let's get something straight here: _I_ am the topper whenever—"

"Rodimus! You're missing the point here. Rewind nearly beheaded Tailgate when he read the essay labeled 'The Mini-Bot and the Mnemo-Surgeon.'"

"Other than it being completely _inaccurate_ and horrifically written, there isn't anything I can do," Rodimus huffed. He didn't even want to know what on the data-pad made Drift giggle. "Besides, Rung uses this for therapy or something. Says it keeps some of the more antsy patients calm."

"Who would possibly write—?"

"Hey!" Attention was redirected towards the open door where the ship's resident psycho stood. Whirl stomped into the room and snatched the data-pad from Drift. "I should've known that you had something to do with my missing data-pad_._ If you wanna read it, you have to wait in line like everyone else."

"Who would possibly read that garbage?"

"Hey, don't like, don't read. Otherwise it's a full cube from Swerve's. Now outta my way."

Whirl stomped out of the office without any care for Magnus' glare. Rodimus shrugged and leaned back in his seat, pulling his laser back out. "Guess that's that."

"Rodimus—"

"You _really_ wanna take away the only thing keeping Whirl from losing it?"

Ultra Magnus actually pouted and twirled around to leave the office. Drift waited to see if he would come back before leaning on the edge of the desk beside Rodimus' new doodles. "You wonder why Whirl would write that?"

"Nope. And I'm not gonna pretend to understand."

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><p>Hypocritical Oath<br>Prompt: Deception  
>Characters: Pharma, First Aid<br>Universe: MTMTE  
>Word Count: 500<br>**Summary:** Bad solutions to good intentions?

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><p>There was something about the dejected slump of First Aid's shoulders that Pharma actually envied. There was just…such an air of <em>innocence<em> in the movement that Delphi's head medic could no longer remember feeling. Pharma took a moment to admire the lost emotion before seamlessly falling into the role of comforting superior.

First Aid looked up from cleaning the clinical tools they had used for the surgery when Pharma gently placed a hand on his shoulder. Pharma offered the other medic a soft smile and gently squeezed. "We can't save them all First Aid."

First Aid sighed and wouldn't look Pharma in the optic. "I know, I know. It's just...I don't know. It was such a simple procedure and I—"

"Stop right there." First Aid allowed himself to be turned to fully face Pharma. He attempted to duck his head, but the jet wouldn't allow it. Taking the junior medic's head between his hands, Pharma met First Aid's visored optics straight on. "We're medics, First Aid—not miracle workers. We did everything we could possibly do, but sometimes even our best falls short. Death is the one incurable ailment that we all must face at one point in our lives."

First Aid hesitated before nodding, and Pharma once more marveled at the gentle, _innocent_ glow of the mech's visor. A glow that foretold a mech who would believe anything. "You're right. I'm sorry with how unprofessional I seem."

Pharma grinned and shifted from holding First Aid's head to slapping him on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it. I'll let it slide this once. Why don't you go see if Ambulon needs a hand?"

First Aid shook his head but began moving towards the door anyway. "You know Ambulon really is a changed mech. If we ever want to see the end to this war, we have to start looking past the emblems we wear."

"Uh huh, and one day Megatron will become an Autobot." Pharma kept his smile on until the door to the operation room had firmly closed behind a chuckling First Aid. The expression immediately dropped the moment he was alone, and Pharma glanced over at the covered frame that still lay on the table. When he finally moved, his movements were fluid and precise—a trained medic in his element as he delicately swept up one of the tools that still possessed flecks of Energon from procedure before. His steps seemed louder than usual, but he whipped the cloth back without hesitation.

Pharma stared down at the mech he hadn't even bothered to learn the name of. It made it easier, not learning the names. No one would care for an unnamed mech that "slipped away" during surgery. Trained hands sought the small panel that hid the object he desired, and Pharma took a final look at the deceased mech's face as the drone of his saw filled the room. "If it helps, you're saving many more lives now than you did when you were alive."

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><p>Rookie<br>Prompt: Practice  
>Characters: Flatfoot, Prowl<br>Universe: IDW  
>Word Count: 100<br>**Summary:** Even the best start at the bottom.

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><p>Flatfoot sighed, staring at the rigid kibble on the other mech's shoulders. The mech—a rookie with plenty of knowledge but lacking actual<em>experience<em>—stood staring down at the greying frame: the victim of the current serial killer the I.M.D. had been tracking. By the faint colors that could still be seen through the grey, they had just missed their killer too.

The senior officer took a moment to pat the mech's shoulder as he passed. "Next time you'll figure it out before he strikes. Practice makes perfect, kid."

Prowl twitched and turned away, door-wings set at a determined angle.


	4. Set 4

**AN:** G1 :D

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><p>Seeker Mischievousness<br>Prompt: Sentence Prompt—You're not fooling anyone.  
>Characters: Thundercracker, Skywarp<br>Universe: G1  
>Word Count: 498<br>**Summary: **In which, Skywarp proves to be a tad smarter than originally thought.

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><p>"Oh, TC!"<p>

Thundercracker immediately frowned at the sound of the voice and turned to face the mech that had addressed him. The purple and black jet similar to his frame design widely smiled at him. Thundercracker's vermillion optics immediately caught the mischievous glint in his comrade's optics. "What do you want, Skywarp?"

"_Nothin_'," Skywarp answered. However, the way the word was innocently stressed had Thundercracker's frown deepening. "I just saw ya wondering around and thought I'd say hi!"

The friendly smile coming from the Seeker was completely negated by the way his wings twitched with restrained glee, and Thundercracker was not fooled for a second. He had been teamed up with Skywarp more than enough to pick up on those subtle signs. "Alright, you've done that. Now please leave."

The younger Decepticon remained unmoved by the cyan mech's polite demand and parked himself on the counter Thundercracker stood in front of. Thundercracker frowned when a wing was shoved in his face, blocking his access to the faction's public Energon dispenser. All he had wanted was his small ration of Energon. Was that seriously too much to ask for?

"But _TC_, I thought we were buds."

"Are you this annoying to Starscream too?"

"'Screamer loves me." Thundercracker found that very hard to believe but was prevented from saying so when the wing was shoved further in to his face. "My status with Star aside, could you help me? I just got outta the med-bay, and I think Hook mighta welded my wing wrong. Can you take a look at it?"

The smugness that had bled in to Skywarp's grin was more than enough reason for Thundercracker to abruptly shove the mech away. Skywarp yelped at the sudden move and fell in to a heap on the ground. Thundercracker glared down at the mech when he whined. "You're kidding, right? I've seen you pull that prank on the idiotic Coneheads more than enough times to figure it out. Find a new human prank to pull because the tube of water you tape to the back of your wing is getting old."

Skywarp pouted and climbed back up to his feet when Thundercracker turned to ignore him. "Fine! Here I was, hoping my _teammate_ would lend a helping hand, and I get shot down. I see how it is now. Don't come crying to me the next time _your_ wing gets fragged up."

Thundercracker shook his head and briefly watched his teammate stomp out of the empty rec-room. Finally! Maybe now he could get his fuel in peace and get back to what he was-

Skywarp tried not to laugh too loudly as he stuck his head around the corner and watched the dispenser explode a couple of gallons of bright yellow paint on to the cyan Seeker. His willpower proved to not be enough, and he began guffawing at the sight of Thundercracker's wings lowering in a resigned manner.

Score one for Skywarp. Whose jokes were getting old now, _TC_?

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><p>Dominance<br>Prompt: Predator  
>Characters: Howlback, Ravage<br>Universe: G1  
>Word Count: 326<br>**Summary: **Ravage doesn't like to be second best.

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><p>Tension cables constricted with each fluid movement the black feline made. It prowled down the dark hallway, belly nearly scraping against the hard floor while the tips of Cybertitanium claws silently clicked with each movement it made. A rigid tail flicked in restrained anticipation, and sharp ruby optics watched its prey turn the corner.<p>

With the trained precision of a warrior and the natural instincts of a feline, Ravage immediately picked up his speed to keep up with the older feline symbiote. Howlback may have been with the Decepticons for a longer period of time, but Ravage was determined to show that his skills overshadowed the older symbiote.

And how could the feline deny that it was better than watching Rumble and Frenzy drive the Seekers insane?

Ravage came to the corner Howlback had vanished around and fell back in to his crouch, slowly creeping around the corner while his flexible ears swiveled forward and strained to pick up every tiny sound. The feline stuck his muzzle around the corner before fully peeking around. The mechanical cat yowled when a large paw slapped down on the top of its head.

Howlback released a deadly growl at the younger symbiote that attempted to wiggle out from beneath her. Sharp fangs snapped down by one of Ravage's flexible ears, and Howlback gave him another swat to the head, almost as if to reprimand the other feline for the mistake it had made. How would Ravage make an effective predator when his prey heard him coming from miles away?

Ravage huffed at the physical reprimand and finally wiggled out of the cobalt feline's grasp. He attempted to hide his embarrassment with a snarl of his own. Howlback sniffed at the failed attempt at dominance and continued on her way. Ravage huffed and did an about-face to stalk off in the other direction, his claw clicking against the floor in shame.

He would get that other stupid Cassette one day!

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><p>Snuggle Buddies<br>Prompt: Heat  
>Characters: Cassettes, Soundwave<br>Universe: G1  
>Word Count: 394<br>**Summary:** Cassettes can't help that their frames have limits that fully sized Cybertronians don't have.

* * *

><p>Having Ratbat flutter in to the surveillance hub and land on the top of his helm wasn't that big of a deal. A little odd, but it was <em>Ratbat<em>. The Cassette was known around the Decepticons to be a little odd at times. To see Laserbeak and Buzzsaw fly in soon after that wasn't strange either, seeing as they had just returned from a classified mission and needed to transfer their newfound intel in to the system. They liked perching on shoulders to do that, so it was only when they decided to snuggle in to the blue mech's neck that it got a little strange. Then came Ravage, slinking through door with the finesse of the feline he was to drape across his feet. Again, a little strange, but all four of the beast constructed Cassettes sometimes gave in to some primal coding they had inevitably received with their frames. Ravage would surrender to his feline side from time to time and just lounge on the nearest living berth if he could.

Things got weird when the Cassette twins decided to make his lap their temporary berth.

The blue mech currently stuck in front of the surveillance monitors carefully turned his head to glare at the mech he heard entering the room behind him. Soundwave blandly stared back at the Cassette-covered Seeker and returned to his station with the data-pad he had left to retrieve. He skillfully ignored the glaring Decepticon sitting beside him and linked back up with the main surveillance hub.

"You did this on purpose."

"Thundercracker: lack evidence."

Thundercracker's growl received an angry jab from Laserbeak when he disturbed the avian Cassette, who snuggled back in to his neck when he became silent again. "Why?"

"Cassette frames produce little heat. Seek host mech to compensate when in need of recharge. Seekers' larger frames exude high amounts of heat."

"I hate you."

"Soundwave acknowledges but lacks motivation to care."

Thundercracker snarled once more, his wings twitching in restrained aggravation when Soundwave casually disconnected from the monitors once more to go do whatever he deemed necessary as the Decepticon's third-in-command. One of the Cassette twins in his lap kicked at his cockpit while Ratbat fluttered around on his head for a more comfortable position.

Next time he was forgoing the "easy" job of monitor duty to help Skywarp take the base's inventory.


	5. Set 5

**AN: **More G1 :D

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><p>Energon Confectionary<br>Prompt: Unusual Irregular Verbs  
>Characters: Wheeljack, Optimus Prime, Ratchet, Prowl, Ironhide, Red Alert<br>Universe: G1  
>Word Count: 498<br>**Summary:** Behold the genius of Wheeljack!

* * *

><p>"Behold!"<p>

The mechs currently taking part in the meeting stared at the device their engineer held up so proudly. Happy and sporadic blue lights came from the structures that framed Wheeljack's face, and yet none of the mechs present appeared to be very impressed. Ratchet scowled; Jazz blankly stared; Prowl twitched his kibble; and Optimus titled his head. "It is…um…what exactly _is_ this, Wheeljack?"

"The greatest thing created since Energon! You see this opening right here? Energon is poured in here, and after you seal it off, the first compartment begins to heat up. Once the Energon has reached a certain thickness, it funnels down in to the next compartment where the molds are filled. Here, pass these around. I brought them just to show them off."

Jazz snatched up the first mold that was tossed at them, twirling it around in an attempt to figure out the shape it was meant to make. Red Alert, who had been suspiciously glaring at Wheeljack the whole time, picked up one of the molds and stared at it. "Why is one shaped like Optimus' head?"

"Don't," Ratchet answered, his voice as deadpanned as possible. He refused to even look at the molds that were shaped like Cassettes. "Wheeljack's random ideas aren't meant to be dwelt on. You'll go crazy trying to make sense of it."

"Thank you, Ratchet! Anyway, the mixture is cooled and allowed to sit for a full day, and then you get these wonderful treats." Ironhide frowned at the solid pink morsel that was shoved into his face, and he sent a quick, private message to Optimus not to consume the strange thing that Wheeljack was offering them. "The humans call them 'gummies.' They're amazing little things and could possibly save over _half_ the amount of Energon we normally consume."

"Wheeljack…" Optimus trailed off as he gave the new Energon a thorough once over. "I am inclined to believe that you may be on to something. Are there any side-effects from having the Energon go through this process?"

"Absolutely, no-"

Ratchet suddenly cursed and vaulted out of his seat beside Prowl. He roughly slapped away the Energon gummy Jazz was about to munch on before leveling a nasty scowl at the confused engineer. "Wheeljack! How many times have I told you not to use the others as your test subjects? First Aid just called to tell me I have three Mini-Bots, two Aerialbots, and one idiotic twin in the med-bay with congealed Energon blocking their lines!"

"Umm…" Wheeljack turned to Optimus, who was politely throwing his gummy into the growing pile in the center of the table. "Prime, I would like another month before presenting my final findings."

"Perhaps we should move you to another project."

"Oooh! Can I make explosives again?"

Optimus shared a look with his Weapons Specialist, Second-in-Command, and Security Director while Jazz grinned at the excited mech. "I believe the majority of your fellow officers have agreed to lift the ban on explosives."

* * *

><p>Winner Takes All<br>Prompt: Fun and Games  
>Characters: Autobot and Decepticon Cassettes Ensemble<br>Universe: G1  
>Word Count: 422<br>**Summary:** A little friendly competition among the Cassettes.

* * *

><p>Rumble scowled in concentration as he crouched down. He could feel the ground beneath him tremble from the battle raging behind him, but he did well to ignore it. Having spent the majority of the war as a spy had taught him not to react to distractions. One wrong move, and it would be all over…<p>

"For frag's sake—shoot already!"

The red Cassette felt his hand flinch, and his scowl shifted to anger when the shot went wide, laughably missing its intended target. Rumble swung around to glare at his blue twin and snarled, "You—look what you made me do!"

"You were taking too long!" Frenzy retaliated. Ravage shook his head and glanced around the rock they were all huddled behind. Laserbeak twittered from his perch on the feline's shoulder when said cat moved to stand up. "Battle's almost over, and you and nerd-jock over there practically took up the entire game."

Rumble huffed and turned to glare as the marble he had been aiming for went rolling out of circle the Cassettes had made in the dirt at the beginning of the battle. His fists clenched around the large sack of marbles he had managed to acquire through this game, and he nearly activated his pile drivers when Eject skipped over to grab the clear marble with the red swirl that he had been eyeing since this match started.

Rewind began congratulating his brother while Steeljaw gave a big yawn of boredom, and Ramhorn was waddling away. Eject checked his marble before casually dropping it into his mesh bag. Rumble glowered at the lack of care he saw in the other mech's movements. There was no respect in those actions—no respect at all! "That marble's mine next time, Auto-dork!"

Eject hummed, and a wide smirk spread across his face. Frenzy, Ravage, and Laserbeak were already sneaking back towards the dwindling action behind them, missing the taunting glint in the Autobot's visor. The Decepticon's own visor tracked the movement of the bag bouncing up and down in Eject's hand. "Yeah, well one of us is the current all-star and the other's a few games behind. Finals are next week—winner takes all tournament. Better bring your A-game!"

Rumble snarled at the teasing mech and hurried after his fellow Cassettes. He safely stashed his bag of marbles in his subspace before jumping into Soundwave's Cassette deck for the Decepticons' retreat. He was going to get that marble during the next fight. Even if it was the last thing he did!

* * *

><p>I Didn't Do It!<br>Prompt: Convenience  
>Characters: Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Prowl, Jazz, Bumblebee, Mirage<br>Universe: G1  
>Word Count: 415<br>**Summary: **Because no one on the _Ark_ really believes in Sideswipe's innocence.

* * *

><p>"But Prowl! I swear we didn't do it!"<p>

Sunstreaker grunted when his brother scrapped up against him and glared at the streak of pink paint he left behind. Prowl didn't appear to be very swayed by the formerly red twin's pleads as he stared them down. "You admitted to taking the paint from the supply closet and setting it up for a prank."

"Well…yeah! But we didn't set up a paint bomb in the med-bay! I'm not that stupid—you don't prank the Hatchet twice in the same week."

Prowl shook his head and allowed a fuming, now pink Ironhide to drag their two resident troublemakers out of the med-bay for further punishment. He glanced around the room splattered in paint, noting the mechs that had been caught in the blast and those that had ventured to this side of the base when they heard the commotion.

Ratchet stood in the center of the prank zone, frame trembling from repressed anger at having taken the brunt of the paint bomb. Even Prowl took a step back when the medic finally glanced towards the onlookers. "Everyone who isn't on the very brink of offlining get the frag out of my med-bay!"

Needless to say, the room was quickly vacated, and a majority of the crew took the extra precaution of clearing the area altogether. Jazz, who had rushed to the med-bay with Prowl when they had heard the explosion, fell into step with Bumblebee and Mirage as the trio calmly headed towards the rec-room. "It's pretty surprisin' the Twins would be prankin' Ratch' again so soon after the last time. Thought they woulda learned from last time that aint a good idea."

Bumblebee gave his superior a bright smile while Mirage simply stared. "Yeah, kinda weird, but you know Sides. He likes to push his limits every once in a while."

Jazz nodded in agreement, but the suspicion in his optic band didn't fade away. "Hey, 'Raj. Ah thought you was gettin' a maintenance check taday."

"I was. Alas, it would seem that Ratchet may not be in the mood to perform maintenance checks for a while."

A navy optic band flashed between Bumblebee's continued innocent grin and Mirage's now blank golden optics. "What are the odds, huh?"

"Yes."

"Too bad the odds o' it happenin' again are slim. Like, say, another week from now when the officers gotta go through maintenance checks. Shame there."

Mirage's blank expression finally twitched with a smirk, and Bumblebee giggled.


	6. Set 6

**AN:** All the G1 \^o^/

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><p>Monitor Duty<br>Prompt: Game  
>Characters: Red Alert, Sideswipe<br>Universe: G1  
>Word Count: 594<br>**Summary: **"Blackmail" is the worst word a security specialist can encounter.

* * *

><p>"<em>So<em>…"

"Quiet, delinquent!"

Sideswipe's optics flickered in exasperation as he twirled around in his seat. Boredom gnawed at the edge of his processor, but he fought it back by tapping his fingers against the keys of the monitor in front of him. Monitor duty was always boring, but Prowl always managed to somehow make it _worse_ when it served as a punishment.

Probably because he always made the punished perpetrator work directly with Red Alert, the most high-strung, paranoid little glitch Sideswipe knew. At least when he was on regular duty, he'd have someone like Blaster or Bumblebee sitting between him and Red. Now there was no one there to serve as a buffer for when the Security Director leaned over and slapped his tapping fingers away. "No playing games. This is _punishment_."

Sideswipe snorted and exited out of the game his fingers had unconsciously pulled up for him. It wasn't his fault that was his usual routine when on monitor duty. "This is so _boring_."

"Stop whining and act like a big 'bot." Red Alert leaned in closer to one of his numerous monitors, and Sideswipe spun around in his chair again with an agonized groan. "You wouldn't be in this situation if you could control your hooligan urges."

Sideswipe snorted once more at the Security Director's choice of words. In his defense, the "prank" he was being punished for now hadn't even been his idea. He just hadn't protested when his brother came to him, demanding retaliation in the form of replacing Track's wax with the glow-in-the-dark putty he had "lying around" after the snobby mech had insulted his paintjob in front of everyone.

Sunstreaker had been very pleased with the results.

The red front-liner finally sighed, finishing one more spin in his chair. To alleviate his boredom, he made a show of stretching his stiff joints, fully ignoring Red Alert's pointed glare in his direction. It wasn't until he was hanging upside down on the arm of his chair that Sideswipe caught a glance of his companion's private monitor. The front-liner instantly popped back up and allowed a devilish grin to spawn. "Oh, _Red_."

"What now?"

"Wha'cha doin' over there?"

To his credit, Red Alert didn't so much as flinch at the knowing tone Sideswipe's voice carried. He leveled an "officer's glare" on the other Autobot and clicked a key on his keyboard. "My _work_."

"It don't look like it." Sideswipe's grin expanded when Red Alert finally shifted. The front-liner leaned closer and found it amusing when Red Alert attempted to hide the game he had caught the mech playing. "Is that…so _you're_ the one who's been winning all of Smokescreen's credits!"

"This doesn't leave this room!" Red Alert hissed, blue sparks flying from one of the horns on his helm to another. "Do you hear me, Sideswipe?"

"What?" Sideswipe dramatically tipped his head to the side, cupping his audial with one hand. "I think I just heard Section 12, Subsection 4, Paragraph 5 of the Autobot Code."

"How do you—"

"Hey, a troublemaker's gotta know the rules in order to skirt around them." Sideswipe's indigo optics brightened at Red Alert's defeated sigh. "_So_…"

After an aggressive glare that didn't faze Sideswipe in the least, Red Alert reluctantly pressed a key in front of him. Sideswipe's monitor flickered from the dull communication logs to the title screen of the game he always played. The officer overseeing his punishment scowled for the rest of the time they were together, but Sideswipe didn't mind as he totally crushed Bumblebee's previous high score.

* * *

><p>Twenty Credits<br>Prompt: Practice  
>Characters: Sunstreaker<br>Universe: G1  
>Word Count: 100<br>**Summary: **The Starving Artist.

* * *

><p>Sunstreaker scowled at the mech in front of him and tried not to take the close scrutiny of his finest work to spark. "What's it worth?"<p>

"This? About twenty cred." The mech took a step back when he finally noticed Sunstreaker's scowl. "Look, that's just how the market works! Anything without a famous name attached to it will go nowhere."

The mech paused. "Keep practicing, and maybe a wealthy mech will be interested someday. 'Til then, I'll give you twenty."

Sunstreaker swallowed his pride and nodded. Twenty credits—that would get him and Sideswipe a cube of Energon for tonight.

* * *

><p>Engineering Optimism<br>Prompt: Lucky Break  
>Characters: Wheeljack, Sunstreaker<br>Universe: G1  
>Word Count:486<br>**Summary:** Wheeljack has the tendency to look on the bright side of things.

* * *

><p>"Well, at least we're not—"<p>

"Don't say it." Sunstreaker glared when he saw Wheeljack's vocal fins innocently flash in the dark, cramped space they were trapped in. "There's only two steps separating us, and I won't feel guilty for knocking you out."

Wheeljack's fins briefly illuminated the space with a pink light before Sunstreaker turned away. Really—as if the day couldn't get any worse. First he had to deal with angry little Mini-Bots because his brother was a moron, then he had to sit in the brig because his brother was a moron, then he had to repaint all the scuffs that came from the angry munchkins and sitting in the brig because his brother was a moron, and finally he was sitting in a cramped hole…because his brother was a moron

Sunstreaker was beginning to sense a very prominent pattern in his life.

"Ya know, we coulda—"

"_Wheeljack_. Nothing you say can make this better."

"Just hear me out!" Wheeljack seemed surprised when Sunstreaker turned back around, the fins that decorated both of their helms nearly clashing in the tiny space. "Uh…"

"_What_?"

"We could have fallen into an active volcano." The space was illuminated once more with a bright blue flash, allowing Sunstreaker to perfectly see his current companion. "Or we could've been eaten by a giant fish. Ya know, like in that story that Jazz—"

"I know what you're talking about." Sunstreaker stared in the direction Wheeljack sat. He waited a moment for the engineer to light the area again before growing impatient. "Is that seriously all you're going to say about this?"

"Hm? Oh, no! That device could've created a black hole that sucked us up into another dimension where we're only about five inches tall. Or we coulda been zapped to a planet inhabited by natives that would've forced us into a game of life and death for their own entertainment." Wheeljack paused. "_Or_—"

"You can't seriously think any of _that _would happen from your explosions."

"Maybe. Maybe not." Wheeljack waved a hand before realizing that their current location wouldn't allow the movement without hitting Sunstreaker in the face. "Sorry. But it doesn't matter if that could possibly happen or not. The point is that it _didn't_, and we could've been in a much direr situation than just stuck in a tiny hole twenty feet from the surface where I know the others are already beginning to dig us out. In the grand scheme of things, we're pretty lucky to be here."

The space went black and quiet for a moment before lighting up again, Wheeljack's vocal fins painting the dark rock a happy yellow as he began to hum. Sunstreaker huffed and slouched as much as he could in the tiny space. However, he slowly began to relax as time passed.

At least his brother was being a moron for someone else right now.


	7. Set 7

**AN: **A healthy dose of _Prime_ and _Rescue Bots_ ^_^

* * *

><p>Beep Bop Boop<br>Prompt: Alliteration  
>Characters: Bumblebee, Rafael, Ratchet, Jack, Miko, Optimus, Bulkhead, Arcee<br>Universe: Prime  
>Word Count: 452<br>**Summary: **Miko brushes up on her beeping skills.

* * *

><p>"Bweep bop buzz."<p>

"That's cool, Bee."

"Beep beep boop."

"A whole group of them?"

"Bzzz! Bop beep beep beep bweb buzz. Boop bop bzzzzzzz!"

"Bumblebee!"

The young yellow warrior's blue optics cycled through settings, and he snapped to attention to stare at the medic glaring at him. Ratchet pointed down at the human computer genius that watched Bumblebee with awe and amusement. "Watch your language around the children."

"Bzzzzz."

Ratchet harrumphed at Bumblebee's apparent apology, and he turned back to the base's main computer. Bumblebee and Rafael immediately went back to their conversation, Rafael typing away at his computer and occasionally looking up to watch Bumblebee pantomime the battle he enthusiastically beeped about. Not far from them sat two other teenagers, one appearing to be more interested in the video game in front of him while the other stared over at the mech and boy duo with undisguised curiosity.

"Language?" Miko whispered to Jack where they were sitting on the couch. "All I hear is a bunch of beeps and buzzes."

"Boop boop."

"And that."

Jack shrugged, fingers flying over the buttons of his game controller. "I don't know. Maybe the right combination of sounds is a curse by their standards."

Miko looked thoughtful for a moment before throwing her controller down and twisting around on the couch to face Bumblebee and Rafael. "Hey, 'Bee! Beep bop boop!"

Rafael's mouth fell open, and Bumblebee physically flinched back, optics spiraling in shock. Even Ratchet temporarily abandoned in his work to stare at the tiny teenager. "_Miko_!"

"Bweep bweep buzz!"

Bumblebee's hand flew up to cover the lower half of his face with a choked buzz, and Rafael almost dropped his laptop. Ratchet shook off his shock and walked over to where Jack and Miko were sitting. "Now, you listen here young lady—"

"Boop blop!"

"Miko."

Miko's mischievous grin suddenly fell, and she turned with the others to see Optimus walking into the room with Arcee and Bulkhead in tow. Arcee quirked a metallic brow while Bulkhead possessed a scandalized look. Optimus remained as poker face as ever. "You would do well to watch your words."

The young girl bowed her head in acknowledgement, and everyone in the room went back to what they had been doing before with the added presence of the three new arrivals. When she was sure no one was watching, she nudged her elbow into Jack's side to get his attention. "How do you think the 'Cons would act if I said that to them?"

"You don't even _know_ what you said."

"So? Did you see everyone's reaction? I just threw down some major shade."

Jack rolled his eyes and tossed the second game controller back to Miko.

* * *

><p>Solace<br>A Transformers Flash Fic  
>Prompt: Looking Back<br>Characters: Soundwave  
>Universe: Prime<br>Word Count: 433  
><strong>Summary:<strong> Soundwave is a good daddy.

* * *

><p>Soundwave could remember a time when he would be bombarded with emotions. From all directions, they would mute his calm demeanor: anticipation, anger, enthusiasm, disinterest, curiosity.<p>

He felt nothing now.

Sometimes, he would call up old video files of little frames running around his feet, lacking any concern for being stepped on as they fought with one another for playful dominance and snapping out a snide remark, or even tinier frames that would flutter around his head and land on his shoulders, huddling down against him in subtle affection.

He looked down and only saw the bleak, black floor beneath his feet.

Sometimes he would lie on his berth, recalling the feel of warm frames huddling against him in a rare moment of weakness. He could almost feel the two bipedal mechs who would, even in their sleep, kick and punch each other in their brotherly way. A pair of wings would flutter against his helm as the tiniest sighed in recharge while two more pairs of wings would lie against his chest. He would feel the final frame curl around his feet later in the off-cycle, having returned from the espionage mission that Megatron had ordered him on.

His form felt abnormally cold now.

After a while there had only been one frame that had remained, clinging to his chest at all times until his talents were needed. Sometimes Soundwave felt the urge to hold the little winged frame tight, refusing to let him go again. To keep his final symbiot from sharing the same fate his brothers had during the procession of an unending war.

Soundwave would always force himself to let go.

And as lonely and cold as it was now, he was glad that he had let go. While he may have been resigned to his fate in this shadow verse—a mockery of the one he now longed to be a part of once more—he allowed a sort of peace to wash over him at the reminder that his final symbiot had escaped this awful fate. Laserbeak had fluttered around him for a while, sensing his presence through the weak symbiotic bond that was still present, but eventually Soundwave had convinced the upset avian to leave. To find the remaining mech that knew how to take care of symbiotic frames even though that mech had been an Autobot.

Blaster had succeeded where he had not, keeping all of his symbiotes alive and cared for, and Soundwave silently watched as Laserbeak slowly acclimated to his new life.

At least he would be able to remember Laserbeak being happy.

* * *

><p>Talk Like a Pirate<br>Prompt: Pirate  
>Characters: Heatwave, Blades, Boulder<br>Universe: Rescue Bots  
>Word Count: 499<br>**Summary:** Pirates and Rescue Bots don't mix very well.

* * *

><p>"Arr, you scurvy dogs!"<p>

Heatwave groaned and contemplated on whether to walk back out of the bunker or push forward. Unfortunately, he wasn't really allowed a choice because his copter companion spotted him. Leaving behind an amused Boulder, Blades sauntered over to him, lifting a hand to right the ridiculous pirate's hat that Cody must have given him while Heatwave was out. The copter's partner certainly wouldn't have bought the ridiculous feathered cap.

"Ahoy matey!" Heatwave wanted to slap his face like he had seen the humans do in cartoons. Blades didn't seem to notice his exasperated sigh as he enthusiastically flung an arm over his team leader's shoulder. "Ye've returned."

"You're not seriously doing this again."

"Arr, I not be knowing what you're talking about, matey."

Heatwave grunted at the chuckle that came from Boulder. "You're not a pirate, Blades."

"Avast!"

"And you're not out on a boat."

"It not be the ship that make a pirate!"

"I thought that was the point of being a pirate."

This caused Blades to pause long enough for Heatwave to slip out from under him. However, it didn't take long for Blades to jump back into his role and follow Heatwave to the other side of the room. "Aye, that be true. But a spirit of a pirate will not be stifled by technicalities!"

Heatwave thought that Boulder was getting far too much amusement from this situation. He flopped down into one of the large beanbag chairs Cody had bought for them, and Blades flopped down beside him, the blades on his back shifting around to avoid being bent. "Go on, Blades. I'm not in the mood right now."

The red Rescue Bot expected his teammate to spit some other pirate saying, but he was surprised to see Blades take off his hat, an expression of concern dominating his features. "You okay? What happened?"

Heatwave briefly thought of not answering before sighing. "Kade was too busy trying to impress that girl again. Nearly got himself killed rushing into a burning building." He paused. "Plus he tangled my hose, and I couldn't fix it."

"That sucks. Here let me help." Heatwave shifted around to give Blades access to his retractable hose. "Wow. That's worse than when my hook gets tangled. You shouldn't be putting yourself through that discomfort."

Heatwave finally sighed as Blades finished. The knot of discomfort that had been plaguing him during the long drive back to the station was gone, and he automatically felt a hundred times better. "Thanks, Blades."

"You're welcome! Now, shiver me timbers, there be another landlubbing scallywag."

Heatwave shook his head as Blades scurried off to greet a very confused Chase and laughing Chief Burns. While Chase found some rule to cite against Blades' "pirating ways," Heatwave turned back to Boulder, who was now humming as he painted a large canvas. "I thought pirates were supposed to be mean."

"Do _you_ want to be the one who tells Blades he can't be a good pirate?"


	8. Set 8

**AN: **All of these ficlets take place in _A New Version of Reality _with the exception of the last ;D

* * *

><p>Bubble<br>Prompt: No Dialogue  
>Characters: Jazz, Skywarp, Victoria, "the sparkling crew"<br>Universe: ANVoR  
>Word Count: 215<p>

* * *

><p>The iridescent orb flashed with swirls of tiny rainbows reflecting from its surface. It drifted through the air, bouncing along as it traveled the light air currents in the room. It was not left to travel alone for long. Suddenly a whole line of little orbs fluttered up to join it, ranging in all sizes from little to "huge," and tiny hands reached high to grasp them as they floated away.<p>

Jazz simply grinned from where he leaned against the wall with Skywarp as the first bubble finally made its way to the end of its journey, landing on the very tip of an amazed Snarl's nose. Little Recall pointed at the bubble with his usual enthusiasm, and all the sparklings stared in silent wonder at the balancing sphere before it suddenly popped out of existence. Squeals ruptured from the group of tinier sparklings as they all turned back to the woman refilling the bubble making machine with the bowl of bubbles Topaz attempted to splash her hands in. Even the stubborn "older" sparklings like Star and Grimlock seemed eager for the next wave to fly out.

The saboteur did not say a word as the fun began all over again, with the bitlets attempting to make the fragile bubbles land on their own noses.

* * *

><p>Exclusive Access<br>Prompt: Permission  
>Characters: Recall, Star<br>Universe: ANVoR  
>Word Count: 392<p>

* * *

><p>"No!"<p>

Recall chirped in confusion as the little plastic door was slammed in his face. He looked around to see Rum' and Frenz' trying to break apart Grimmy and Snarl after the two brothers began roughhousing. Toshi was silently sitting off in a corner watching cartoons and would not be any fun until they went off. Recall did not possess the patience to wait for the smaller sparkling and tuned back to knock on the door. "Starry? Come in?"

"Go away Recall!"

The mechling tilted his head, his bright blue optics shining in confusion while his springy "curls" bounced to the side. He did not understand why Starry was being so mean! He just wanted to play with him; they never got to play anymore because the bigger Starry always took him away.

Recall reached out and pushed the door open a crack before it was abruptly slammed shut again. The sparkling squawked and stumbled backwards when the door smacked against his face. His optics winked in stunned confusion while Starry shouted from within the house. "You can't come in unless I say you can! So, go away."

The younger sparkling's systems stuttered before heating up. Quiet and quick intakes of air caused the mechling to sputter little beeps, and liquid began to pool beneath his optics. Before any of the diluted Energon could slip down his cheeks, the door flung open, and the bigger Seekerlet came out to crouch in front of the Pretender.

Recall stubbornly wiped away his tears, remembering what happened the last time the Seekerlet had seen him crying. One, single tear managed to escape from where it suspended on the very edge of his crystalline optics, and the mechling sniffled when he reached up to the older mechling. "Play now?"

Star huffed but picked up the mechling without a word. Recall chirped with sudden joy and clung to the Seekerlet's neck as he was carried back into the playhouse. Recall happily twittered when he spotted sissy, Swoop, and Birdie playing in the corner of the house, and the bigger sparkling put him down so that he could join them. Star huffed again and kicked the door shut, growling when it did not slam with the right amount of force.

"What's the point of having a super, secret club if nobody gets in with the super, secret password?"

* * *

><p>Learning to Function<br>Prompt: Something New  
>Characters: Mirage, Victoria<br>Universe: Pint Sized Series  
>Word Count: 497<p>

* * *

><p>"Now, simply concentrate on your display." Mirage paused, waiting for a response. When the femme sitting in front of him merely shifted in her seat, the former noble sighed. "Do you still have the message pulled up on your HUD?"<p>

"They never disappear, Mirage." Mirage didn't flinch at the caustic bite in the femme's voice, and she sighed, optic band dimming in response to the emotional change from aggressive to remorseful. The mech silently wondered if she even realized the shift had been visible. "I'm sorry, Mirage. I just…I'm getting so frustrated with this! You guys probably do this without any thought, and I can't even get rid of the flashing numbers that tell the time."

"Yes, but this is something we learn moments after coming online. It's not surprising that you're having a hard time." Mirage sighed when the femme's pliable silver face curled into a nasty scowl. "You are not going to get this the first time, Victoria, and there are just some things that you may never understand. In body you may be Cybertronian, but in _mind_ you are still a human. Humans do not have anything equivalent to a heads-up display wired into their vision."

"Can't I just download some…program or something that would handle this for me?"

"Perhaps, and while we're at it, we'll just delete everything containing your human life and completely reboot your processor." Mirage saw the flicker of terror that flashed across Victoria's optic band before her face shifted to match it. "If you would like to cheat with this, we might as well just save the hassle of doing it again later. Because this won't get any easier. You _have_ to learn how the basics before we can move on to other, more complicated matters."

Victoria vented in frustration and dropped her head into her hands. She immediately popped back up when her hands bumped against her visor, and Mirage tilted his head when she annoying rubbed the thick strip of tinted glass. The action must have somehow prompted more messages to pop up on her HUD. If that was the truth, then there was certainly more work to be done than he realized, and Mirage didn't know if he would be able to teach the once human woman as well as he had previously thought. It was the first time he had ever had to teach another Cybertronian how to do what came naturally.

"Let us try once more…"

Mirage trailed off at the sound of a small ping from the door, and he allowed Victoria to answer it, a small smile of pride flickering across his face when she only stumbled once. Victoria may not have been able to fully grasp the new internal functions of her frame, but she was certainly making progress when it came to finding her balance.

Now it was much more amusing when the femme tripped and fell against the legs of a very surprised Skyfire when the door swished open.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> That's the majority of the flash fics I have at the moment. Next up will be some of the little fics I wrote for Halloween :)


	9. Halloween Set 1

**AN: **During the month of October, I attempted a 31 Days of Halloween challenge over on Tumblr. I didn't write on every prompt, but here are a few of the fics I wrote during the challenge. (There was also one I wrote for _Rebirth_, but because I've already uploaded it in that story, I won't be reposting it again.)

Halloween 1/3 Sets

* * *

><p>Day 2: Crow<br>Universe: G1  
>Characters: Skywarp, Thundercracker<p>

* * *

><p>Skywarp sighed…or kind of sighed. He found it difficult to perform such a human act when he was currently sitting in his alt-mode. But such was his current predicament.<p>

Curse Starscream for "volunteering" him for scouting! He didn't want to sit here, at the edge of this military airfield with this bland grey paint slapped on him in "disguise". Just to watch these stupid humans deal with this super-secret, Megatron attracting form of energy. Or was it a weapon? Whatever—Skywarp didn't really pay attention to little details like that.

Where had Thundercracker flown off to? That jerk had promised to come back when he had their well-deserved rations. Skywarp twitched on his wheels. He wondered what would happen if he activated his warp generator the next time a human came along to inspect him…

The disguised Decepticon flinched at a loud, unusual cry, and he almost stuttered when a tiny organic landed on the tip of his nose cone. The sleek black feathers on its tiny body practically gleamed in the sunlight, and the tiny head tilted towards the orange dome of his cockpit.

Skywarp froze, fighting the urge to break cover and knock the bird away. Those beady black eyes and the sharp gleam they possessed stared straight through him, and he had the uncomfortable sensation that this animal _knew_ he wasn't some ordinary machine.

…so Skywarp expanded his EM field to give the nasty creature a shock it wouldn't forget. He snickered when the bird released a startled cry, and his form trembled when it lost its footing and fell to the ground. "Scram, ya winged rodent."

Skywarp ignored the indignant cry he received and felt absolutely no remorse to see the bird wobble through the air when it was finally able to take off. He actually snickered a little more when the black bird was unable to fly in a straight line before settling once more into the boredom he had been submitted to.

It was only a few minutes later that Skywarp felt the first rock. It pinged off his tinted cockpit, and he sat in confusion as it slid over his form to land on the ground. Then another fell from the sky, rattling down the edge of his wing, then another. Skywarp yelped as the pelting rocks fell in a steady stream and tensed when the loud, mocking cries of the bird from earlier echoed through the airfield.

By the time his alt-mode had accumulated enough tiny dents to become noticeable, scraping away small patches of the cheap paint that had been applied to him, Skywarp was on the very edge of transforming and blasting all the black birds circling above him from the sky.

Of course, the birds had to then land on every available surface…on _him_. He trembled in response to the talons that scraped against his wings, gripped his tailfins, screeched down his sleek cockpit as they searched for something to grip.

The final bird landed on his nosecone, fluffing its ebony wings. It stared straight at him, and Skywarp felt his plating heat up. The bird cawed, sparking the other dozen birds on him to mimic the cry. Skywarp swore they began to do a little tribal dance, and the only thing that kept him from taking off was the sudden reappearance of the partner that had abandoned him.

Thundercracker rolled up to sit beside him, and the birds simultaneously turned to stare at the blue-grey jet. Skywarp waited, and his trine mate didn't disappoint. "Skywarp…I see you made some friends while I was gone."

"Shut up."

"Told you some of the organics on this rock were actually smart."

"I said shut up!"

* * *

><p>Day 7: Stars<br>Universe: A New Version of Reality  
>Notes: Takes place during time skip in chapter 1 of ANVoR<br>Characters: Victoria, Bluestreak

* * *

><p>A cool, crisp wind flowed through the empty field, and the sparse leaves that still clung to the spindly branches of the trees fluttered in its wake, reaching out in an attempt to join their brethren blanketing the ground below. The faint light from the full moon cast shadows across the field as insects filled the small area with a calming song from the brush enclosing the open area.<p>

The natural calm of the forest was broken by the loud crunch of broken limbs. Artificial light filtered through the trees, and voices soon began to overpower the chirping chorus. "I know it was around here somewhere…oh! Here we go."

The bushes surrounding the area parted, and a young girl stumbled through them. She shook her entire body, dislodging a leaf that had become stuck in her short, black hair and the tiny branches that had snagged on her baggy sweater, and turned to address the loud footsteps that quickly followed. "It's cold."

"Yeah, I probably should have thought of that. But this is the best place to see!" The girl stepped aside when a large, metallic foot landed beside her. The blinding light that flooded the field dimmed, and the human child looked up at the silver and dark grey metal giant with a small frown. "It looks a little difference since the last time I was here, but I guess that's because of the seasons changing. Sometimes I forget that Earth's weather actually changes like that."

"You've been on Earth for over ten years and you still forget?" A sudden gush of wind bombarded the pair, and the pre-teen wrapped her arms around herself. "You just _had_ to choose the first night the temperature fell below seventy degrees, didn't you?"

"I'm sorry, Vi." A pair of doors fluttered on the mechanical giant's shoulders. "I thought your sweater would be enough to keep you warm. That _is_ why you wore it."

"Yeah, but if I'd known that we'd be coming out to the middle of nowhere and I wasn't going to be sitting snug in your heater, I would have worn something a little thicker." Vi—or better known as Victoria—untangled herself long enough to stretch out the thin fabric of the flannel pants she wore. "Plus, I wouldn't have come out in my pajama pants. You do know that sleep overs and camping are two completely different things, right?"

"Of course! But the stars aren't nearly as clear back at the house…and Wheeljack was doing something with the chemicals he snuck out of his class. Last time that happened, we got a huge hole in the floor that went straight through the house's foundation. It reminded me of this one time back in Iacon—"

Victoria shook her head at how her companion easily shifted to an entirely new topic, but his short attention made her smile. Over the past few years, she had come to learn that a Cybertronian's designation often reflected their personality or skills. Her friend was no different, and "Bluestreak" certainly captured his most prominent trait.

While Bluestreak went on to explain one of Wheeljack's infinite number of hazardous exploits, Victoria tilted her head back to examine the clear night sky. Her dark grey eyes minutely widened, and her mouth partly opened at the sight of the twinkling dots above them. There was rarely a time when they ever appeared so clear or close—and so numerous! Where was this amazing display back in the suburbs?

"—and Prowl never again let Wheeljack hold his acid pellets." Bluestreak firmly nodded at the conclusion of his tale before tilting his head to see Victoria. He chuckled at the gaping expression he found on the pre-teen's face, and his chuckles grew louder when she jumped at the sound of him collapsing onto the ground. The mech attempted to use a small patch of the trees surrounding them as a backrest before simply propping himself up with his arm. "I was pretty sure you'd like this. You always seemed really interested when me and Wheeljack talk about Cybertron."

Victoria vigorously shook her head and moved to climb up on to the top of Bluestreak's foot. She slipped once on the smooth metal, and a large hand reached out to gently lift her up. "I can't help it. Who else has a chance to grow up with two—three if you count turd my brother's attached himself to—giant aliens from another planet? I'm stuck with you, so I might as well make the best of it."

The young girl smiled at the laugh her statement inspired and turned to stare up at the sky once more. Bluestreak did the same after dimming the headlights embedded his chest armor and waited for the main reason he had chosen to bring his human companion all the way out into the unpopulated area.

The gasp he heard when the first streak of light cut through the dark sky had his grin returning full force, and he unconsciously mimicked the way Victoria leaned further back to catch the perfect angle of the meteor shower. "You know, back on Cybertron meteor showers were a pretty common thing. I used to watch them all the time when I could, and I remember the first time—"

Victoria leaned further back to rest against Bluestreak's leg, muscles relaxing at the familiar drone of the mech's voice and the streaks of light that danced across the sky.

* * *

><p>Day 8: Black Cat<br>Universe: G1  
>Characters: Ravage, Stunticons<p>

* * *

><p>There was one, well-known fact around the Decepticon base—the Stunticons, while being very brutal, were a very impressionable set of mechs. Motormaster could be convinced to do anything if he thought Megatron would perform the same action; a few flattering words would have Drag Strip thinking anything (good or not) was his idea; Dead End would simply shrug and comment about dying; Wildrider had enough screws loose to go along with anything; and once paranoid Breakdown was forced out of the corner he hid in, he would do anything to get back into it.<p>

Knowing all of this, Ravage didn't think twice of them as he prowled through the _Victory_'s rec-room. The feline Cassette rarely had a moment to himself, and he wasn't about to waste it on attempting to figure out what Drag Strip and Wildrider were fervently whispering about, or why Breakdown was actually sitting in the middle of the rec-room with his team. Motormaster only got a second glance because Ravage knew the large mech had a tendency to try to step on the little Cassettes that roamed the base, but as soon as the feline was out of reach, the Stunticon's leader was of no interest.

Ravage yawned, uncaring for the way Breakdown flinched back as he passed or Dead End's droning tone insisting that they were all going to die at some point anyway. A giggle from Wildrider caused an ear to flick, but only because the sound was unfamiliar. Decepticons did not_giggle_.

"Hey, pussycat!" Rumble snickered at the snarl that answered him while Frenzy gulped down a cube of Energon that was larger than both of them. Laserbeak twittered and danced to the side to make space for Ravage in their secluded booth. "Boss was saying we actually gotta day off today. We're thinking about going topside and roughing up a few of the meatbags before he locks us up again. Wanna join?"

The feline tilted its head from across the table, flexible ears twitching once more as they picked up the subtle nuances of giggles above the rest of the ruckus the rec-room was known for. After a moment, Ravage finally shook his head and pawed the cube Laserbeak had offered. Rumble shrugged while Frenzy teased Laserbeak with a laser pointer he had "found". "Suit yourself, pussycat. Don't be getting all jealous when you're stuck down here doing nothing."

Ravage yawned as a sign of his lack of concern and trained his ruby optics on Frenzy attempting to escape a good pecking. The spy's ears continued to flick in time with the giggles coming from Wildrider across the room.

* * *

><p>It wasn't until much later that Ravage began to regret his decision of ignoring the Stunticons and their oddly familiar ways. As he usually did on his own time, Ravage prowled down the long, violet hallways of the <em>Victory<em>, searching for gossip—otherwise known as juicy blackmail—to relate back to Soundwave.

Unfortunately, there was a severe lack of fellow Decepticons to actually eavesdrop on, and Ravage was beginning to get a little twitchy. The few mechs he had come across during his earlier prowls had been the Stunticons, who had strangely refused to come anywhere near him. Normally, he had to _at least _fend off Wildrider, who had the strange notion that Soundwave's animal Cassettes were pets. But no—all of the members of the youngest gestalt had gone to extreme pains to avoid his path.

Perhaps he should have taken Rumble up on his earlier offer…

The Cassette instantly froze. With ears flattened against his head and ruby optics scouring what appeared to be an empty hallway, Ravage sunk to the floor, his belly nearly scraping against the ground as he slithered into the familiar shadows near him. He silently crept further down the hallway, and the quiet noise that had caught his attention before prompted him to emit a silent growl.

Ravage stayed completely still as Wildrider turned the corner in front of him. The black Stunticon froze as well before suddenly turning and dashing back in the direction he had come. After a brief internal debate, Ravage slunk down the hallway to follow. He could still hear the strange mech giggling, and he forced his cautious pace to go a little faster.

As they traveled further into the base, Ravage's dormant sense of curiosity began to rise. While it wasn't often that the feline allowed the emotion to overcome his usual job-oriented focus and attentiveness, Ravage was beginning to grow tired of the gestalt's strange behavior. They were up to something, and he knew that his Cassette deck and Megatron would want to know whether it was detrimental to the cause.

He paused at the entrance of the storage room he had followed Wildrider to, allowing his intake systems to catalogue the various scents that wafted through the door. The feline snorted at the overwhelming smell of the cheap waxes Drag Strip and Wildrider preferred and adopted a little more caution when stepping through the doorway.

Of course, Ravage was soon reminded of _why_ he usually kept his intense curiosity locked away.

"Now!"

A yowl echoed through the _Victory_ as Ravage was blinded by a liquid that fell from above. He pawed at his optics, slipping when what had fallen on him coated the floor, until he was able to see through a thin layer of purple. He snarled when three forms stepped out from behind the storage containers they were hidden behind. Ravage nearly gave in to the urge to pounce on one of them and gauge their optics out when Drag Strip appeared from behind the box beside him, widely grinning as he held the dripping barrel of paint he had dumped on the Cassette.

"I _told_ you it would work! Now who's the smartest in the gestalt?"

Dead End sighed. "You are, Drag Strip."

"That's right, and nobody forget about it." Wildrider giggled when Ravage slipped in the blue paint pooling on the floor. Breakdown's optics gained a new level of brightness as the feline viciously snarled at them. "We can tell Motormaster the whole thing was a success, thanks to_my_ genius thinking, and he'll be sure to tell Megatron. Our luck's gonna be turning around real quick now that everyone's not getting bad luck from a black cat crossing their path."

Ravage shook his head, splattering drops of blue paint, and stalked out of the storage room without another glance at the young gestalt.

* * *

><p>"Hey, pussycat, why you looking so…<em>blue<em>?"

Ravage's snarl was only contained by the soothing strokes along his back. That didn't keep him from snapping at Rumble when the younger Cassette climbed up on the berth to sit beside him, and the little troublemaker was lucky that their master was taking care of the awful paintjob because Ravage was in one his rare foul moods now. The firm hand not only scrubbed away the paint, it kept the feline in place.

"Rumble: teasing ill-advised." Soundwave's voice modulator created an instant calming effect, and Ravage's tense cables loosened. He still reached out to swat Frenzy when the other twin attempted to touch him, though. "Ravage currently in unstable state."

"Awe, he can't be that upset." Ravage stared through optics that thankfully no longer possessed the purple tint from the blue paint. Even if he had still been blinded, he would have been able to see straight through the fake smile on Rumble's face. "At least it's a shade of blue that matches your optics."

Soundwave sighed as he grabbed his normally calm Cassette to keep him from mauling the others. He would need to pay closer attention to the Stunticons the next time they accessed the internet to research human superstitions...

…because he wasn't about to have another confrontation with Motormaster about being a witch.


	10. Halloween Set 2

**AN: **Halloween 2/3 Sets

* * *

><p>Day 12: Bones<br>Universe: MTMTE  
>Characters: Scavengers, Grimlock<p>

* * *

><p>Krok liked to believe that he was a reasonable mech.<p>

After all, he hadn't protested after waking up from the D.J.D.'s attack and finding the Scavengers' new, giant Dinobot "pet" galloping down the halls of the _W.A.P._ He had merely sighed when he caught Misfire giving the damaged Autobot belly rubs when Grimlock was in his alt-mode and stared when he caught Spinster with the top half of his frame in the Dinobot's mouth, marveling at how sharp his teeth were.

But he was starting to think that this might be going a little too far.

"Misfire—"

"Hi, Krok!" Misfire waved from the contraption that his fellow Scavengers (plus Dinobot) were crowded around. "We were wondering when you'd get back."

Krok stared as Crankcase, who was sitting next to Misfire, turned to smack Grimlock in the side, but the transformed Dinobot simply wagged his tail, his glowing blue optics solely focused on the object Fulcrum and Spinster loaded into the bucket of their shoddy contraption.

The strategist had a feeling that most of the things the group may have scavenged on this trip had gone in to that mechanism. "What…are you doing?"

"I'm holding down the catapult for them to load."

"I can see that. _Why_?"

"So we can launch the bone we're using." Misfire paused. "Duh."

Fulcrum yelped as Spinster let go of his end of the large bone they had somehow found on the organic planet and began to struggle under the weight of it. Sparks flickered from Crankcase's injured head when he grunted and finally stopped his attempts to keep Grimlock from sniffing the bone.

"Where did you even find that thing?" Krok gestured towards the catapult, ignoring Fulcrum's stutters for help. "How did you _make_ this?"

"Crankcase did it. The catapult, not the bone."

The leader turned to stare at Crankcase, who simply stared back. "You could build _this_, but I had to travel an entire _day_ to the only Neutral colony on this planet to purchase one tiny part before you could even touch the ship's engines?"

"Meh."

"Stop sniffing me!" Grimlock growled when Spinster punched the tip of his snout, and the masked mech jumped out of the bucket where Fulcrum began to frantically struggle to free his leg. "Launch!"

"Launching!"

"No, wai—"

Krok followed the arching path the catapult took the moment Misfire and Crankcase released it. Fulcrum's shouts became softer as he flew across the vast field with the bone—managing to make it over the hull of the _W.A.P.—_and they became almost inaudible when Grimlock's giant feet pounded against the ground as he galloped after both of them.

Misfire grinned as he watched Fulcrum and the bone land a few yards away while Spinster attempted to figure out what had happened to the K-Class mech, and Crankcase began taking apart the catapult. Krok could only shake his head when Grimlock snatched up the bone and left Fulcrum lying in a contorted heap.

Krok was a reasonable mech; he knew full well that anything he said to his crackpot team of Decepticons would go in one audial and right out the other. So, he just allowed them to do their own thing.

* * *

><p>Days 17, 18, and 19: Insects, Cauldron, and Eyeballs<br>Universe: Rescue Bots  
>Characters: Chase, Chief Burns, Heatwave, Blades, Boulder<p>

* * *

><p>"Sir, may I ask a question?"<p>

Chief Charlie Burns paused, coffee cup halfway under his burly moustache, and slightly turned to the screen in the center of the dashboard. The face of his Rescue Bot partner was displayed there, with an expression of what the chief had come to know as "curiosity"—brighter yellow optics, a smaller frown, the slight tilt of a head. Chase's curiosity was never as obvious as some of the others, but Charlie had come to pick up the subtle motions. "Of course. You can always ask me anything."

"Why are you consuming a replica of a human optic?" Charlie blinked and looked down at the donut he had picked up with his coffee. The pastry oozed strawberry jelly from the first bite he had taken, smearing the white, red, and black icing that had been used to decorate it. "I was under the impression that the consumption of human organs was frowned upon in most societies."

"Oh! The people that run the bakery always like to get into the Halloween spirit."

"And what does this 'Halloween spirit' have to do with the consumption of human organs?"

"Umm…well…" Chief Burns scratched the back of his head. "Halloween is a human holiday that a lot of people enjoy celebrating, and most of them spend the majority of this month preparing for it—getting into the Halloween spirit—by decorating things to match the 'scary' theme of the holiday."

Charlie sipped his coffee as Chase contemplated this simple explanation. "'Scary?'"

"Or grotesque. You've seen the movies that Blades watches. The ones that make him more jumpy than usual? Everything you see in those movies is really popular now. Or I should say, more popular than usual."

Chase released an acknowledging hum before immediately directing his attention towards the vehicle that sped past their parked position. He sighed at their interrupted break and buckled up as Chase started his sirens. "Guess our coffee break is over."

"Crime does not wait for coffee."

Charlie chuckled and focused on the quick pursuit.

* * *

><p>"Heatwave?"<p>

Heatwave sighed and attempted to ignore the hesitant whisper. Now was the only time he had a chance to recharge after what he had accepted as a "normal" day in Griffin Rock. Before coming to Earth, he would have laughed if someone had told him that tiny little organic creatures could cause more trouble than an average sized Cybertronian. He wasn't laughing that much now.

"Heatwave?" The fire truck grunted in response to the nudge he felt against his back. A gush of air washed over his head, and Heatwave grimaced at how close the whispering mech was now. "Heatwave, I know you're awake. You never twitch when you're actually in stasis."

"What do you want, Blades?"

"There's something wrong with Chase!" Blades jumped back to allow his team leader to sit up. The helicopter pointed towards the main area of the rescue station's bunker. "I think he might be sick. What do we do? Should we call Optimus and ask if he can send his medic to help?"

Heatwave sidled past Blades and stepped out of the room they used to recharge in. He paused the moment he had cleared the doorway, and Blades took that opportunity to peek over his shoulder. "See? I told you something was wrong. Maybe he's actually been replaced by aliens…you know, aliens that aren't humans."

The red Rescue Bot shook his head and continued to stare at Chase, who stood in the middle of the room with Boulder. The police bot noticed their arrival and carried over the heavy, black container held. Heatwave stared at the contents of it before looking back up. "What're you doing, Chase?"

"I am simply exploring my 'Halloween spirit.'" Chase held out the bucket for Heatwave and Blades to get a better look at the assortment of items it held. Blades' worry was immediately replaced with awe as he began to dig through the objects, but Heatwave remained largely unimpressed. "I have conducted a quick search on what humans would consider 'scary' or 'grotesque' and found that many of these items could be found while cross-referencing 'Halloween'. However, I am still perplexed as to why some of these would prove 'scary' to the average person."

Heatwave waited for Blades to move before reaching into the container himself, pulling out one of the flexible toy insects amidst the other various objects. "Alright. Now, what's up with the big bucket and hat?"

"Apparently, they are vital accessories for what the humans classify as 'witches.' I discovered that way to explore Halloween is the common practice of wearing various costumes. And it is a cauldron, not a bucket."

"Whatever."

A high pitched scream floated down into the bunker, and Heatwave took a moment to admire its shrillness. Normally, they weren't able to hear anything from the station/human living area above them. Boulder was the only one to show concern as Blades continued digging through Chase's cauldron, cooing over a raggedy, red haired doll he found. "Um, shouldn't we check on that? It sounded like Dani might be in trouble."

"Oh, that _totally_ wasn't Dani." Blades tossed aside the doll in favor of a smiling clown. "Dani doesn't scream like that. She even makes fun of the fact that my screams are higher pitched than hers, and that's definitely a lot higher than mine. Ooh! Why would humans be scared of such adorable dolls?"

There was another shriek, and Heatwave casually threw the toy he held back into the cauldron. "Lemme guess: you left the fake rats upstairs."

"I am afraid I did not purchase any of those." Chase glanced at the ceiling where the dull noise of banging could be heard. "However, I did inquire about the obtainment of live mice. Do you think they have arrived?"

The old intercom system in the bunker squealed on and spewed static down at them. "Chase…I'm gonna need to talk you about a package—"

Chief Burn's voice was suddenly overpowered by the full force of the shrieks they had been hearing, and all the Bots had to reset their sensors when the intercom finally clicked off. Chase was the first to recover. "Ah! It would seem the final component of this 'Halloween spirit' has finally arrived. If you will all excuse me…"

Boulder automatically took the cauldron that Chase handed to him, and the police bot took the elevator up to the station. While Blades cuddled the plushie monster he had found in Chase's cauldron, Boulder turned to Heatwave and asked, "How did you know Chase had gotten rats?"

"Because only Kade can scream loud enough to be heard down here, and apparently, he's got a thing against rats."

* * *

><p>Days 21, 22, and 23: Curse, Poison, and Phobia<br>Universe: G1  
>Characters: Jazz, Prowl, Mirage, Bumblebee, Optimus Prime<p>

* * *

><p>Prowl stared at the mech standing before him. Jazz grinned back, and Prowl was able to identify the usual smugness in the saboteur's smile. He glanced back down at the data-pad he had been given and delicately placed it on the desk before him. "Are you honestly serious about this?"<p>

"Why you soundin' so offended, mech?"

"Because I can't decide if this is a joke or an attack on my intelligence."

"What? Ah would never!" Jazz reached over to tap the screen of the data-pad, highlighting the section that was the current cause of discussion. "It's all _legit_. Got evaluated by Rung an' everything. See?"

Prowl sighed and leaned forward in his seat, chin coming to rest on the back of twined fingers while his elbows rested on the desk. "Jazz, please. You do _not_ have—what is it called?—ergophobia."

"How would you know? Are you mo'e aware o' my mental state than our resident psycho-babble mech?"

"I am very aware that the last time you attempted to get out of paperwork, you forged Ratchet's signature to say that you were allergic to formatted reports; the time before that you feigned a cracked wrist joint; and the time before _that_ you tried to hand the work off to Bumblebee. I'm starting to think you're losing your creative touch." Prowl glanced back down at the data-pad. "Though, I must commend you on forging Rung's signature. He tends to change it every other quartex and you managed to figure out the one he is using now."

"Does that mean Ah aint gotta do a report?"

Jazz caught the data-pad that was tossed at his head and was sent pouting through the door. The door swooshed close behind him, and Jazz frowned down at the device he held. He glanced back at the door that now cut him off from his fellow Autobot officer. The mech frowned and stomped down the hallway. "Losin' my touch, huh? Ah'll show you."

* * *

><p>Prowl didn't flinch when a body suddenly collapsed onto the table before him. He merely grabbed his half-filled cube of Energon and continued to sip from it as he skimmed through the data-pad he held. He refused to budge when the body began to violently spasm, nearly knocking the table over.<p>

When the frame finally stilled, splayed across the table spread eagle and tongue comically sticking out, Prowl carefully replaced his cube, shifted in his seat, and traded his data-pad for a new one. The brief pause in the rec-room's activity slowly began to start again, and Jazz's frame was left to lay on the table until Prowl finally sighed. "Jazz, please. You're leaving scuffs on the table."

To Jazz's credit, he didn't break character and continued to "play dead", even managing to stifle the sound of his vents. Prowl shook his head and stood up, taking his now empty cube and data-pad and leaving the room. A few minutes ticked by with a few more Autobots leaving and entering the room before a slender white and blue mech approached the table. "He is gone now. You are starting to look ridiculous."

The cutting statement served as the signal Jazz needed to suddenly be "revived", and the saboteur shifted to sit in the middle of the table and pout. "Man! That mech's got nothin' but coolant runnin' through his lines. How can ya just sit an' stare as another mech dies o' fuel poisonin'?"

"Given your flare for dramatics and current refusal to complete the work assigned to you, I can imagine that Prowl was simply unmoved by your blatant attempts to escape responsibility." Mirage shook his head as his commander continued to pout. "Just fill out the paperwork. It is practically just a series of fill in the blank!"

"No!" The former noble sighed and stepped aside for Jazz to jump off the table. "It aint about the work now. It's about provin' that Ah aint washed up."

"Who is insinuating that?"

"Prowler did when he said Ah done lost my creativity. Ah'm gonna prove that aint true!" Jazz stared at Mirage long enough to make the other mech twitch in discomfort. The saboteur finally grimaced and sidled past Mirage while clutching the armor covering his abdomen. "But first Ah'm gonna go purge that bad cube Ah consumed."

Mirage's haughty posture wavered. "Why would you do that?"

"'Cause Ah wanted the poisonin' ta seem authentic!"

* * *

><p>Prowl stomped down the hallway, his door-wings flared to take up more space than usual. Autobots automatically stepped aside when they heard him approaching, hugging the wall to avoid being whacked by the mech's kibble. Whispers immediately filled the hall once the officer had passed, but Prowl was far too focused to bother noticing. His current goal was to address the matter that had Red Alert spazzing out in his security hub.<p>

He certainly wasn't amused by the commotion that was Jazz. Even less so when he finally reached the mech.

"S'up, Prowler?"

Door-wings jittered. "Why is your office in the hallway?"

Jazz spun around in his chair while Mirage sighed from where he leaned against the desk in the center of the hallway. "Ah can't work in there."

"_Why_?"

"That place is haunted!"

Luckily, there was no one walking by at that moment because they may have been whacked by Prowl's wings when they jerked up and down once more. "Your office is not haunted."

"Yeah it is!" A sudden, ghoulish wail came from behind the closed door of Jazz's office, and Jazz gave the door an emphasized wave. "See? It was that data-pad ya gave me. It was cursed!"

Prowl continued to twitch, dark optics glaring at the grinning Jazz and exasperated Mirage before straightening his shoulders and regaining his calm. Door-wings lowered to a neutral position, and the strategist simply retrieved a new data-pad from his subspace. "My apologies. I will make sure to exorcise all data-pads from now on. Until then, you may use one of _my_ personal data-pads, which are all curse free."

Jazz's grin faltered, and the smirk on Mirage's face confirmed that the saboteur hadn't expected such easy acceptance for his actions. Prowl nodded towards the data-pad Jazz accepted. "Unfortunately, the templates for field reports are not downloaded onto that, so you will have to construct your report from scratch. I expect to find a _thorough_ and _invigorating _report. Good day."

The strategist spun around on his heel without waiting for a response from the two Special Ops mechs and retraced his steps down the hallway in a more calming manner. Jazz stared at the blank screen of the data-pad, and Mirage chuckled. The door in front of them slid open, and Bumblebee skipped out to join them. "Did I sound convincing enough? I didn't have much time to practice."

"You did _wonderful_." Bumblebee smiled widely, ignoring the obvious sarcasm that saturated Mirage's voice, and Mirage turned to lightly pat Jazz's shoulder. "Fill out the report."

"Never!"

* * *

><p>Prowl didn't glance up from his work as the door to his office opened. "Do you have that report?"<p>

"No, Ah—"

"Do the report."

"But—"

"I don't want to hear it."

Jazz pouted and turned back around to leave, dragging the giant, inflatable balloon out behind him.

* * *

><p>"A'ight! You win."<p>

Prowl tilted his head to the side and stared at the pouting saboteur standing in front of him. It had been a week since Jazz had begun his attempts to escape writing one, short field report, and Prowl had begun to wonder if the saboteur realized he was creating more work for himself by avoiding it. Sometimes, the very epitome known as _Jazz_ just didn't make any sense to him. "What have I won?"

The strategist could have grinned at the disgruntled scowl he received. He did well hiding his amusement as Jazz shoved a data-pad towards him, noting that it was the same data-pad he had given the saboteur when his office had become "haunted." "Here's ya stinkin' report. Hope you have fun readin' it while we're partyin' in the rec-room."

Prowl shook his head and watched Jazz stomp back out of his office just as he had come in. The officer activated the data-pad and glanced over the detailed report saved on it. He had barely scanned through the first paragraph before he frowned. He sighed and quickly connected with Optimus through their internal communications system. "Optimus?"

"Yes, Prowl?"

"Did you write Jazz's field report for him?"

There was a pause. "I am sorry, but this is a pre-recorded message. Optimus Prime is currently busy handling…Prime-ly matters. Please, leave a message, and I will return your call in a timely manner."

Prowl shook his head and tossed the data-pad aside for a later time. He would never understand Jazz's animosity towards simple, little field reports.


	11. Halloween Set 3

**AN: **Halloween 3/3 Sets

* * *

><p>Day 25: Slime<br>Univserse: MTMTE  
>Characters: Brainstorm, Perceptor<p>

* * *

><p>Brainstorm was smart. In fact, he was the most genius of the genii found on the <em>Lost Light<em>, and he was perfectly aware of that. Who else could create a high powered EMP grenade with a small battery pack, paperclips, and a cracked chronometer? (And so what if it had ended up knocking out a few allies? The point of the matter was that he had built it, and it had _worked_.)

Unfortunately, Perceptor wasn't as receptive to his genius as he was. Hence why the former Wrecker didn't even bother to look up from his work when Brainstorm strode into his lab. The jet took a moment to admire the small space (and how much better_ his_ lab was) before approaching the other mech. "Perceptor—"

"Whatever you have accomplished in the last hour is of no interest to me."

Brainstorm immediately stopped and propped his hands on his hips. Perceptor continued to jot down notes on his data-pad, not even bothering to turn around and acknowledge his fellow crewmate. "How rude! Here I was, simply stopping by to say hi…but since you are the one who opened the conversation—"

Perceptor sighed and stood up, causing Brainstorm to take a step back with the small box he had pulled out from behind his back. The scientist-turned-sniper gave Brainstorm a blank look, frown deepening after seeing Brainstorm's wings mischievously wiggle. "I have a meeting with Rodimus that I cannot be late for. Don't touch anything."

"I would _never_." Brainstorm waited until the door had slid close behind Perceptor. He waited a grand total of ten seconds before tossing aside the simple mass-displacement cube he had developed out of boredom. The tips of his fingers diabolically clicked together as he shuffled over to what Perceptor had abandoned. "Now, what are you up to, my only rival on this ship of Neanderthals?"

Brainstorm's excitement quickly deflated when he realized there was no super exciting, blow-your-mind-it's-so-awesome device anywhere near Perceptor's workspace. In fact, the only thing within arm's distance was…a drooping organic _weed_. Well, this was disappointing. The inventor poked at the closed shriveled petals that were grouped at the end of a flaccid stem.

"Seriously? _This_ is what he's been cooped up in here doing? Not even a tiny gun? A zapstick? _Anything_?" He poked at the petals again, pausing when the delicate bulb began to part. "Well, at least it does some—"

Brainstorm's huff was abruptly cut off as a projectile was suddenly ejected from the plant. An embarrassing yelp escaped him, and he jumped back to scrap away the fluorescent slime now blurring his vision. When the slime refused to be wiped away, Brainstorm focused on blindly reaching for something—anything!—on the table that would help wipe it away.

Then the burn began to set in.

Perceptor smirked from the wall he leaned against outside his lab as Brainstorm came running out of the room, calling for a solvent to wash away the slime. While First Aid and Ambulon peeked out from the med-bay down the hall, Perceptor made a quick note on the data-pad he had snuck away with him. "Note to self—the mucus of Subject S from the planet Venetrine contains acidic properties that activate on contact with metallic alloys. Further observation and experimentation needed to discover _which_ alloys cause said reaction. Also, Brainstorm is an idiot. End data log."

* * *

><p>Days 26 and 27: Demon and Reaper<br>Universe: G1  
>Characters: OC and Mystery Character<p>

* * *

><p>Gasps escaped the dark mech with each step he took, but there was nothing that would prompt him to stop his waning pace. The ringing bang of a waste bin he collided with after taking a corner caused him to jump and frantically look behind him. He doubled his pace when his red optic thought a shadow moved, curling towards him and maliciously smiling.<p>

For a hardened Decepticon who had grown up in these very alleys of Kaon like Crossbolt, it felt odd to be frantically searching for a back door to duck into. The very fear that had his fuel pump pounding in his audials hadn't been felt since he had obtained the heavy upgrades for the gladiator pits. Next to Megatron, Crossbolt had been one of the most feared fighters in the ring.

Now he was running like a cowardly Autobot!

He should turn and confront his pursuer, but the moment Crossbolt stopped long enough to do just that, he would remember the sharp pang in his shoulder where his arm had once been connected. Feel the rivulets of Energon that still leaked from the various incisions along his torso. Become oriented enough to realize his field of view was limited to his left side.

Crossbolt's pace jolted to a new level, and he forgot the urge to face his hunter.

However, that didn't matter as he rounded a new corner and came face to face with his new nightmare. The sight of the little monster, with its devilish smirk and glowing red visor, made the mech violently recoil and stumble backwards. One foot tripped over another, and he was suddenly eye level with that malevolent smirk. Crossbolt scurried back, using his one good arm as his only leverage. A sob finally tore from the voice box that had been damaged by earlier torment, and the mech's bright vermillion optic attempted to convey his inner distress. "Please—"

All his haggard plea received was a tut of disapproval and waggling finger in his direction. "Now, don't be that way, my mech. If you hadn't run, we wouldn't be in this situation."

Crossbolt flinched as the tiny monster was suddenly crouched down between his legs, smiling that deceptive grin. He whimpered when a hand came up to roughly grab his wounded shoulder. He swallowed the Energon that threatened to travel back up from his tank and attempted to back away from the glowing visor leaning closer to him. His back hit the wall. "I won't tell anyone—I swear!"

Fear was stifled by a sudden surge of hope when Crossbolt saw the smirk waver. A frown took its place, and the dark frame leaning over him hesitated. He steeled himself and found that he was sitting at the perfect angle to see the muted blue optics flicker beneath the deep burgundy visor that hid them.

Crossbolt's tank churned at the clear view he had gotten of those blue optics when he had wondered into the storage room earlier. There hadn't been much time to do anything beyond instinctively drawing his weapon before he had been knocked out, and he had onlined later to find the visor back in place above the smirk that would quickly become ingrained in his mind. It was the only thing he had been able to focus on through the pain, both physical and mental. Minutes had felt like days, and Crossbolt wasn't even sure how long the torturous questioning had lasted before he had been able to escape.

But with the way he had been so easily overtaken, his great "escape" didn't feel like it had been a very grand accomplishment.

The monster shifted above him, and Crossbolt snapped back to attention, horrified by how difficult it had become to keep his head held up. He flinched this time when he saw the hand that lifted up to gently cup the less damaged half of his face. The movement was much too contradictory to his earlier treatment, and Crossbolt wanted to thrash away from it.

"You just _had_ to walk in." The frown was almost as genuine as the soft tenor of the mech's voice. "I was starting to like you too."

Crossbolt wasn't allowed a chance to respond as the hand outside of his peripheral was thrust through his chest. The lone optic brightened for less than a second before going dark, and the larger mech's frame slumped against the wall. The hand gently retracted, and the remaining mech stared at the cooling frame for a moment before standing.

A washcloth was silently extracted from his subspace. The mess off Energon left behind on his hand was quickly mopped up, and he tossed it into the nearest waste bin before bending over the body once more. He tilted Crossbolt's head to extract the data slug that had been installed at the base of the mech's head.

After looking it over for damage, the small device was quickly stored, and the mech began walking down the alley towards the busy street. Midway down the alley, he reached up and lightly tapped side of his head. "This is Special Ops codename Meister. Assigned mission has been completed. ETA to Iacon base within the next day. Meister out."

* * *

><p>Day 29: Scream<br>Universe: MTMTE  
>Characters: Ultra Magnus, Tailgate<p>

* * *

><p>It was Rodimus' fault.<p>

This was a fact in Ultra Magnus' mind when the first scream tore through the corridors of the _Lost Light_. It was solidified by the sight of Tailgate turning the corner and scurrying towards him with a glitching visor. So great was the Mini Bot's terror that he didn't even notice Ultra Magnus until he nearly knocked himself out on the SiC's knee.

Ultra Magnus sighed in response to Tailgate's backwards stagger. "Tailgate, any noise above three hundred decibels is not allowed outside private quarters in accordance to sub-clause—"

The mech paused his dressing down to give the miniature mech an unamused stare. "Let go of my foot."

Tailgate trembled and scrambled higher up Magnus' leg. "M-Magnus! You're a big mech—one of the biggest and strongest ones on board. You've gotta protect me!"

_Here we go._ "From what?"

Tailgate's visor flashed, and he quickly glanced over his shoulder. He scooted higher, causing Magnus to sigh once more, and cupped the masked portion of his face with one hand. "The _clowns_."

"…what?"

"The clowns, Magnus—the clowns!" Tailgate's trembling began anew, and he clung to the Enforcer's leg with a new urgency. "Rodimus told me all about them. How they blind people by spraying acid in their eyes from fake plants. And turn poor little organic creatures into these things called balloons and pop them. And they eat the sparks of Mini Bots to make their puppets! I don't wanna be a puppet!"

Ultra Magnus stared down at the panicking little mech that attempted to scrabble up his thigh. He twitched when the sound of snickering reached his audial, and he looked up just in time to catch a glimpse of a yellow spoiler that vanished around the corner. He knew who it had been—his Rodimus senses weren't merely tingling but viciously stabbing at him. He was already three-fourths of the way through a very detailed and severe speech on the reasons why Rodimus should not—as captain—be spreading such ridiculous rumors simply to scare the Mini Bots.

Which Rodimus would never listen to, but it satisfied his core programing enough to make him feel better. Plus, he had been correct, adding another layer of satisfaction.

It had indeed all been Rodimus' fault.

* * *

><p>Day 30: Undead<br>Universe: Pint Sized  
>Characters: Victoria, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Bluestreak<p>

* * *

><p>The young woman sighed and swept her fingers through short raven hair. Her dark grey eyes took in the scene before her, and she shifted where she sat on the floor. She sighed again. "Alright, I'll bite. What the heck are you supposed to be?"<p>

Before her stood a trio of miniature robots. One smiled widely, his dark grey door shaped "wings" wiggling in amusement; another possessed a deep frown that did not reflect the cheery yellow of his armor; the last one held a smile similar to the first, but it was slightly crooked and resembled more of a grimace as he fought to keep two Styrofoam triangles wedged inside his mouth. Sideswipe dramatically flourished his cape, which appeared to be a swath of stiff cloth cut from the shirt Victoria had just thrown away. "I am Dracula! Bleh, bleh-bleh."

The red Autobot suddenly lunged forward and latched on to the woman's bent knee. Bluestreak snickered as Sideswipe began gnawing on the exposed skin. "I am going to suck your blood!"

Victoria stared, and Sunstreaker shook his head at his brother's antics. Bluestreak simply continued to laugh. When the pinches from Sideswipe's new set of canines began to irritate her, Victoria reached down and grasped the mech around his waist, bringing him up to her eye level. "Have you been watching those B-class horror movies again? Because I told you that the next time I get Ratchet on my back for Swoop thinking that the spiders I squish are going to suddenly rise from the dead, I'm sending him your way."

Sideswipe's optics flickered, and he crossed his arms in a pout. "You are such a fun sucker! Worse than Red. I don't even know why I try."

"Believe me, neither do I." Victoria lowered the mech back down to his brother and friend, and Sunstreaker proceeded to smack Sideswipe across the back of the head while Bluestreak's snickers faded. The woman waved him off when he expressed worry over the tiny speck of blood from where one of Sideswipe's fangs had managed to pierce her skin. "How did you even manage to make cut those things out? I haven't seen any of you running around with knives or anything."

"I took apart that blade thing you keep in the bathroom."

"_You're_ the one that stole my only razor."

"Ye—" Sideswipe yelped when Sunstreaker violently elbowed his abdomen. He was about to attack his brother in retaliation when he noticed the deep frown on Victoria's face now. "I mean, no. Why? Was it important? Maybe you should blame Skywarp. I hear that makes everything better."

Victoria shook her head at Sideswipe's feigned innocence. "Whatever. I need to get back to cleaning. No more horror movies when I'm asleep. I mean it, Sideswipe!"

"Yeah, yeah." The red front-liner waved at her as he and his brother left the room. He had nearly made it out of the room when he elbowed Sunstreaker to get his brother's attention. "She never said anything about when she was _awake_."

Victoria rolled her eyes, missing Sunstreaker's murmured reply, and glanced down at her lap where Bluestreak had climbed up to sit. "It's only been a couple of days since you guys showed up, and I already understand why Prowl always looks so tired when Sideswipe's mentioned."

Bluestreak smiled, neither agreeing with her nor defending his friend.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> Hope you guys enjoyed these brief ficlets. That's all I have at the moment, but as soon as I wrote another set, I'll be sure to post them here :D


	12. Set 9

**AN:** I haven't been very active with these flash fics in the past two months, but are the few that I managed to write :D

* * *

><p>Flickers<br>Prompt: Star  
>Characters: Grimlock, Misfire<br>Universe: MTMTE  
>Word Count: 295<p>

* * *

><p>They flickered above him: little dots of white, blue, or red scattered across an inky backdrop. Some appeared bigger than the others, and they tempted him to reach out and grasp them from the air. What would they look like then, dwarfed within his massive hands and glowing so brightly?<p>

He had tried many times to grab them. The brightest of them all would disappear within his clenching his fingers, and a surge of satisfaction would leave him tingling. However, when he opened his hand to get a glimpse of his treasure, it would be gone, swept back up into the pitch black he had snatched it from.

Anger would swell up in him, and he would stomp around the ship, ignoring the tiny bot with yellow optics that would flee from beneath his feet. Every time they were within his grasp, they would suddenly disappear! It didn't matter how hard he concentrated—how tight he squeezed his hands.

They were always just fleeting specks of light dancing before his eyes.

"Grimlock!"

A hit to the back of the head made the towering Dynobot grunt, and he slowly turned to stare at the purple mech hovering in front of his face. He barely reacted when Misfire leaned in to examine his face—didn't flinch at the "playful" slap to the face. He glanced back out the window and reached out to touch the glass.

Misfire snorted, and his feet thudded against the floor. "Are you staring at the stars again? Come on! Krok said you still have a breem in the corner for nearly squishing Fulcrum again."

Grimlock raked his fingers against the glass but eventually submitted to Misfire pushing him back in the direction of the corner he had abandoned for the twinkling images.

* * *

><p>Bun Fun<br>Prompt: Double Meaning(s)  
>Characters: Bumblebee, Jazz<br>Universe: G1  
>Word Count: 221<p>

* * *

><p>"Hey Jazz! Have you heard the good news?"<p>

The saboteur leaned back in his chair. He took a moment to admire how Bumblebee's usual jovial smile turned into a frown from this angle. "Naw. What's up?"

"Sparkplug said Carly had a bun in the oven. That's why she and Spike couldn't come to the base today."

"A bun?" Jazz flipped around and leaned his arms against the back of the chair. "I been noticing Carly eating a lot of those lately."

"You think it's one of those cinnamon ones? They smell the best."

"Maybe it's one of those honey ones. She's been carrying those around in her bag lately." Jazz tilted his head. "How come they couldn't make that here? We got all that stuff so they could do their human thing here."

Bumblebee's smile twitched. "I don't know. I hope they can get it out soon; Spike said he would go with to the drive-in to watch the horror movie marathon with me."

"Does it normally take two people to make a bun?"

"Beats me. Humans do weird things."

Jazz hummed and waved after Bumblebee. He twisted around to face Blaster, who had been sitting patiently across the table from him. "Wonder why Sparkplug didn't tell 'Bee about Carly being pregnant. He was telling everyone when he came in earlier."

* * *

><p>I Needed That<br>Prompt: Basic Need(s)  
>Characters: Ratchet<br>Universe: Prime  
>Word Count: 491<p>

* * *

><p>The clang of a metal fist meeting the equally metal surface of a work table reverberated through the silent hab suite of Autobot Outpost Omega One. The white and orange mech released a litany of curses before snatching up the small tools he had been attempting to use on the damaged device before him. His curses morphed into a wordless shout when the delicate scanner fell apart in his hands.<p>

This was the third time this week—_the third time_! Ratchet had never witnessed such…such…stupidity! How many times did it take Bulkhead to realize he couldn't mindlessly slam his fist against a counter commonly used to hold his devices? What did Arcee think she was doing when she took it upon herself to smash open a scanner just to change the batteries? Why did Bumblebee take his tools and attempt to weld together a replica of organic wildlife? _And then leave them on the floor for Optimus to unknowingly step on?_

A gush of hot air was expelled as Ratchet dropped his tools and the now worthless scanner to lean back in his chair. The medic was beginning to seriously contemplate a strike when it came to repairing things. If he didn't repair them, then nothing would be broken anymore—problem solved. No more seeing a month's worth of hard work crushed, battered, and broken; no more having to lecture the younger 'bots about responsibility; no more pretending to not hear the snickers to his honest disappointment. Let them try to get along without his expertise for a while; that would show them just how serious it was when he said he needed that!

A ping from his door sent him to grumbling; a second ping made him glare; and the third ping pulled him to his feet. Ratchet muttered under his breath as he stepped up to his door and sent a signal for the locked door to slide open. His glare was in full force to pin down whoever had disturbed him, and it hardened when there was no one standing before him. He growled and prepared to spin around on his heel and lock the door once more when he briefly glanced down.

Ratchet paused and stepped further into the doorway to glance up and down the hallway. His search proved fruitless, and he finally bent down to grab the cube of luminescent blue liquid and the data-pad sitting beside it. The sight of the Energon made Ratchet realize how long it had been since he last refueled, and he took a brief moment to turn on the data-pad and reveal the full eight seasons of the unsociable human doctor he had begun to take interest in thanks to June Darby.

He scrolled through the list of full episodes now at his disposal before flicking his finger to expose the other open file on the data-pad. He almost smirked at the message:

_"We thought you might need this."_


End file.
